The Fox and the Dancer
by Yimiki
Summary: The Grand Duelist has never backed down in the face of a challenge- ever. But when a simple escort mission goes sideways, she might be in for a bigger adventure than she realizes.
1. Prologue

**Heya, guys. This is my first fanfic... ever, I believe. I hope it won't dissapoint! Enjoy. ^^  
Please leave a comment if you liked it, hated it, or have ideas to improve the story. Or just to rant. I love ranting. too. =3**

* * *

**Prologue**

The aftermath of war was something terrible.

That was the first thought that appeared in the ancient king's mind, as he looked down upon what was left of his army. It had been a brutal fight. The ground was dyed a bright crimson with all the blood that had been spilled, from both friend and foe. Cracked lances and broken swords lay abandoned on the grass, next to the bodies of their fallen masters.

They'd been good men.

The king groaned. He clasped the base of his stomach with both hands, but even their combined pressure wasn't enough to keep the blood from dripping out of a huge flesh wound. For the past five minutes, he'd been frantically trying to heal himself. But it was of no use- his magic circle wasn't working. The king laughed as he could feel his life energy slowly slipping away, staining his robes in the same colour red that was drawn all across the battlefield.  
In a way, it was ironic. After all that he and his men had sacrificed to win the war, their king wouldn't even be alive long enough to claim victory.

Maybe it was meant to be that way.

As his vision started to get blurry, something white at the edge of the forest caught the king's attention. A small animal was slowly making its way across the reddened ground, unbothered by the countless bodies that were lying in its way. The little fox must have felt the king looking at it, because it suddenly froze and turned his way. Slowly, the animal started to crouch towards him, the only living soul left on the battlefield.

The ancient king could feel himself slipping away. The world around him turned to a black, impenetrable mass and soon the only thing that he could still see was the brilliant white of the fox' coat. When the creature finally reached him, he couldn't feel his legs anymore. With an inhuman amount of effort, he turned his head and looked straight into the fox' piercing, yellow eyes… and smiled.

The next moment, the last bit of life energy left his body.

The small creature was drawn to the dying man, for reasons it couldn't understand. It reached out, touching the king's face just as his life left him. It happened quickly. A bright, fierce blue light enveloped both the man and the fox, blinding the world around them. The wind howled as strands of ancient, invisible magic gathered around the clearing and connected themselves to the fox. If there had been anyone else alive, they would have heard a soft, subtle humming as two lives were forever altered.

When the light finally faded, the fox was alone. The king's body had vanished, leaving only his bloodstained cloak behind. But that was not the only thing that had changed. The fox' glistening white fur had disappeared, as well. The creature sat up in awe as she looked down on her limbs, that had become long and soft, in the same shape as the humans that lay defeated on the ground. Her skin had turned a delicate pale, and she could feel long strands of raven black hair caressing her back. She slowly lifted her paws. Her yellowish eyes turned wide when she instead saw two human hands, with long, delicate fingers. The creature remained frozen, staring at herself for several minutes.

And then she laughed. A low, inhuman-sounding laugh escaped from her mouth, getting stronger and stronger until she was physically shaking from laughter on the blood-stained ground. The sound echoed eerily across the remains of the battlefield. Finally she stood up, lifting the red cloak with her bare foot before carelessly tossing it away. Her fangs glistened in the red evening sun as she gave a satisfied smile.

'Thank you.'


	2. Chapter 1

**Act 1 – Chance encounters**

It was a bright, sunny afternoon at House Laurent, one of the former most prestigious houses in the upper rings of Demacia. A tranquil silence lay over the villa's walls and grounds, only interrupted by the clashing of wood against wood in the courtyard.

'Again!'

Fiora tensed her muscles as the boy in front of her charged ahead. He was holding a wooden sword, just like her, and his face was frowned into a mask of concentration. Fiora could see his left arm rising in order to stab her in the side. She nimbly stepped out of the way and hit him on the side of his neck with her own blade, leaving a small scratch.

'Too slow, and you're wide open from your left. Again!

The brown-haired boy turned back to her and lunged his weapon again, this time aiming for her arm. He was sloppy, her new apprentice. Fiora had agreed to tutor him as a duellist as a favour for one of the connections of House Laurent, but from what she'd seen from him so far, he still had a very long way to go. She bit her lip as she saw the boy focus solely on her arm as he continued his attack, and yelled:  
'Look at me!'

As she'd thought. He obeyed her command, lifting his head and looking her in the eyes, only to be thrown on the ground by a fierce kick of her well-trained legs. His head smacked against the rocky soil and the fall made him let go of his weapon, which landed a little to his left.

'Damn it!' he yelled, having realized he'd fallen for her trick.  
'Get up. During battle you néver, ever, listen to your opponent. Again! Stand ready!'  
The boy let out a tired sigh. He made no effort to lift his head from the stone and just closed his eyes, mumbling:  
'It's no use. I can't beat you. Hell, I can't even put a scratch on you.'  
Fiora frowned. She dropped her own wooden sword as well and walked toward her apprentice, placing her hand on her belt.  
'Logan, open your eyes.'

He groaned, but eventually did as he was told, after which that groan turned into a scream as he saw the very real sword swinging just an inch above his face.  
'Lying down on the battlefield like that equals an instant death. Do you realize that, Logan? Do you think a real enemy will just let you off the hook because you've surrendered to them?'  
'N-no, m'am…'  
'And do you think that the armies from Noxus will think twice about killing a harmless little Demacian boy if they can?'  
'No, m'am.'  
'Then _get up! _I'll let you off the hook for today. But the next time that you give up like that again, I will make sure you regret it. Am I clear?'

By now, most of the colour had disappeared from his boyish face. He'd turned white as a sheet. Logan nodded, crouching away from her as far as he could as soon as she lifted the blade from his chin.  
With a single sweep, Fiora let her rapier glide back into its sheath. She stood back up, pulling her reddish hair out of her face. Her dark blue eyes scanned the courtyard in which they had been sparring. It was small, and yet spacious enough for light training sessions. Large, glass windows gave sight on the main hall of house Laurent, as well as some of the rooms behind it. All of it was hers. The entire building and everything that came with it. Rightfully obtained in single combat, where she'd finally defeated her childhood role model. But it had been a bitter victory.  
Fiora's attention was drawn by two figures behind the safety of the windows. It were women, servants, showing in the way which they were dressed. They had witnessed the sparring match and were now mumbling to each other, the sounds not passing the fragile glass. But Fiora could read their lips, anyway.

'Look at her. One duel and suddenly she's master of the entire House. She's always been arrogant, but that was nothing compared to how she's acting now.'  
'She defeated her father in single combat. She has a right to be proud of her marksmanship.'  
'Oh, but did she really? Only her uncle was witness to that duel. And her father turned out to be a lying traitor, as well. We all know how hard that girl strived to be like her father- don't you know that treachery is inheritable?'

Without realising it, Fiora had clutched her hands into fists. Blood started pounding in her ears as she witnessed the verbal assault on her and her family. What right did those women have to question her honour, her loyalty? None, even though half of it was true. Her father wás a traitor- he had undergone the biggest disgrace as a duellist- but that did not mean that she was, as well.

Fiora had already placed her hand back on the familiar weapon on her thigh when she re-took control of herself, and exhaled slowly. They were just servants. It was nothing to get this worked up over. She knew that she would have to fight to restore her family's tarnished reputation, and using defenceless servants for target practice was not a good way to start. But still…  
'Insolent peasants,' she mumbled under her breath.

'My lady Laurent.'  
Fiora slowly diverted her attention from the women behind the window and onto the man who has approaching her from the front door. He was dressed lightly, as was custom in these parts of the country, and had the exact same eye colour as her.  
'Uncle,' Fiora greeted him, bowing her head slightly. 'Have you come with good news?'  
'Better. I've come with a request from Headquarters.'

Her eyebrows went up slightly at his comment. Last time they had heard from them, the place had been in uproar about the treachery of his father, and Jarvan had had his hands full with the accusations that were being thrown at the rest of her family. It was not like him to come to an agreement about something this quickly.  
'What kind of request?'  
'They've reviewed the records of the duel with your father. Quite frankly, they were impressed, even with his new… reputation. They've requested your assistance in a special mission. According to them, only someone with your skills can be up to the task-'  
'They want to test my loyalty,' Fiora cut him off. 'Of course. Now that I've taken my father's place, they want to see if I'm made out of the same material as him. And they couldn't have come here and said that to my face? Who do they think they are?'  
'For now, your allies,' her uncle said with a smile. 'Headquarters has given you the benefit of the doubt, Fiora. And even better than that, they have given you the chance to restore your reputation in all its previous glory. Jarvan personally vouched for you. It's a golden opportunity.'  
'I'll decide that for myself, thank you,' Fiora said coldly. Her uncle misunderstood her anger for approval, and eagerly asked:  
'Does that mean that you'll do it?'  
'I don't know yet. What is the mission?'

* * *

The next day, Fiora rode towards the edge of Demacia. Her destination was one of the old holding cells, where the subject of her mission was said to be kept. Fiora had not received any information yet, other than that she was to be part of a military escort. And she would be rewarded handsomely, which probably meant that this prisoner was fairly dangerous.  
Fiora had no desire to be part of the mission. She was a duellist, not a prison warden. Her strength was on the battlefield. That was where she shone, in the midst of war, not in a hushed transportation of some outlaw. She was going to refuse the mission- but in order to do that, she would have to ride over to the commanding officer and explain herself, anyway.

'My lady Laurent!' the soldiers on duty said, as soon as they saw her coming. They bowed. 'Our commander is awaiting you in his chambers, my lady.'  
'Thank you.'

Fiora handed her horse to the nearest stable boy, gave him a coin to make sure the beast would still be there when she came back and then took off towards the closest building, a big, yellow brick that was looking out on the prison cells. She had only come here a few times before, and it was not a pleasant place to be.  
Fortunately, the commanding officer came outside just as Fiora was about to go in. He looked surprised to see her, but then quickly hid his expression behind a fake smile and approached her.  
'Lady Laurent. We've been expecting you. I assume you've been slightly briefed about the upcoming mission? We need your remarkable skills with the sword in order to transport a dangerous being.'  
'Yes, I have been informed. And I refuse,' Fiora said promptly, surprising the man.  
'Excuse me, my lady?'  
'I said I refuse. I have not worked hard to become a duellist in order to play prison warden now. That is not where my talents lie. Now, if that's settled, I would like to wish you a good day.'  
'But they have not made this a mission that you're allowed to refuse,' the commander protested, trying to block her way back to the stables. 'It is truly of utmost importance that we provide the strongest escort available, because the mission will fail if we don't.'  
'And you cannot possibly find other men who were trained to be military escorts? Surely they would be far more suitable for this than me.'  
'But-'  
'Who is the prisoner, anyway?' Fiora sighed, gradually getting annoyed with the man. She turned away from him and started walking towards the cells, which all seemed strangely empty. 'I would like to see who is so important that you would have me wasting my time over.'  
'Well, to be completely honest… we're not entirely sure.'

Fiora stopped dead in her tracks.

'What do you mean, you're not sure?' she asked, her eyes flashing with anger at the man. 'Who are you holding?'  
'There's a little story behind it, my lady,' the commander began to explain, but Fiora had already turned her back on him again and marched away fiercely. Within a few steps she'd reached the holding cells. When all of the front cells proved empty, she descended the dark path in between them, leading further into the building. The sun's light gradually became more dim and, as a result, big, eerie shadows got cast across the walls. Fiora paid them no heed and marched until the far end of the building, where two guards were stationed in front of an iron door.  
'Out of my way,' she ordered them, to which they quickly obeyed. The men bowed to her and stepped aside, clearing the path for her. Fiora frowned shortly upon seeing the many pins and locks on the metalwork. With a single pull, she yanked the door from its frame and opened it.

It was dark inside of the back cell. Fiora's eyes took a few seconds to get used to the absence of light, after which they were drawn to a movement in the back of the room. A single woman sat on the stone floor, all by herself. Her way out was blocked by a wall of thick, iron bars.

Fiora blinked a few times from confusion. This was the dangerous prisoner that they needed her to guard and transport? She did not look dangerous at all. Quite the opposite, actually. Long, shiny wisps of black hair fell across her shoulders and down her upper body, ending somewhere near her waist. Her arms were wrapped around her curvy figure and her face was aimed at the ground, making it impossible to see her eyes from the shadows. The woman was wearing a short, revealing dress that reminded Fiora of the clothing in the eastern parts of Valoran.

What was this obviously foreign-looking woman doing all the way in Demacia? Was she a spy of some sorts? She did not look like a trained warrior. A mage, perhaps? Fiora was not very familiar with Valoran's magic arts, being a sworn swords user herself. On her guard, she approached the iron bars.

'We don't know its name, or where it came from,' the commander's voice sounded from just behind the door. 'But Headquarters has ordered that we transport it to the northern tower.'  
'What for?' Fiora asked, her eyes still fixated on the woman in front of her.  
'That wasn't in our orders. To study it, I suppose. Honestly I don't care. I just want it out of my citadel.'  
The woman moved slightly, drawing Fiora's attention back to her. She was… strangely fascinating. Fiora found herself unable to look away from her. Suddenly, the woman lifted her head and looked up through the wall of bars, straight into Fiora's eyes. They were a yellowish shade of orange, with a black stripe in the middle, where the pupil was supposed to be. It threw Fiora off-balance; she had expected something different. It vaguely reminded her of an animal's eyes, though she couldn't recall which one. An ominous feeling crept up on her, like an icy wind running down her back. In a reflex, she grabbed for her swords.

'Of course, taking her to the tower safely will be a lot easier if we had a master duelist with us,' the commander said, finally walking into the room as well. He cast an arrogant glance down at the woman inside the cell, and continued to walk closer to the bars. 'And just think of the reward that will be bestowed upon you, my lady.'  
'I already told you, I refuse,' Fiora said slowly, still trying to determine where the feeling of uneasiness was coming from. By now, her sword was almost completely unsheathed. As the commander further approached the bars, the tingling down her spine increased tenfold, and suddenly she saw a flash of movement from behind the woman.  
'And I can imagine that the reputation boost will not be unwanted, eith-'  
'Commander, _get down_!'

Fiora jumped forward and kicked the commander's knees, at the same moment that something white lashed out at the bars. With a hellish noise, the bars gave way almost immediately and crashed out of their positions, one piercing the air where the commander's head had been just seconds ago. Another flash of white and his body was shoved out of the way and smashed into the stone wall. A big dust cloud had filled the room, limiting Fiora's line of sight until she had no clue what was going on.

Suddenly, without warning, the white things appeared from the dust cloud and lunged itself at her. Fiora raised her swords to defend herself, but she wasn't fast enough. Her body was picked up like a rag doll before being thrown to the ground, hitting the stones so hard that Fiora could see little white stars dancing in front of her eyes. The two seconds it took for her to regain feeling in her limbs were enough for the black-haired woman to climb out from the hole in the barred wall, towering over Fiora as her hands clutched themselves around her throat.  
'Little human,' she whispered, in a soft and husky voice that once again sent chills down Fiora's spine. Fiora could feel her body grazing against Fiora's as her face closed in, decorated by two black, fox-like ears on the side of her head that definitely hadn't been there five seconds ago. Behind her, the things that had broken the bars and probably killed the commander slowly swayed from one side of the room to the other. They were tails. Giant, white tails that reminded Fiora of a group of foxes, when their coat had turned the colour of snow.  
The creature had her hands around Fiora's neck, but she wasn't strangling her. Instead, she slowly moved one finger down her skin, with a mischievous grin that revealed four blinking sharp fangs.

'You seem interesting… should I make your pulse rise, or stop?'

A wave of adrenaline shot through every vein of her body, and in a sudden burst of renewed energy, Fiora clutched her blade and swung it upwards, cutting the black-haired woman across the arm. She let out a high-pitched scream and rolled off of her. Fiora jumped back up and, now in her element, placed the sword against her throat.  
'I ought to cut your head off right where you stand, beast,' she growled.  
'I'm sitting, actually,' the woman smiled back. 'And be careful with those toys. You will poke someone's eye out.'  
As a response, Fiora pressed the blade against her throat even harder, making red drops of blood appear around the edges. Her smile turned into an expression of hatred as the woman was slowly pressed to the floor by the sword.

'Prison… prison break! Guards!'

'Oh, you're still alive?' Fiora responded to the commander, who came crawling out of the residing dust cloud. He was bleeding on the side of his head and seemed dizzy, probably from being smacked against the wall so hard. 'Do something useful and call your men so they can cuff her.'  
'Guards!' he yelled back to the other side of the door. 'It almost escaped! Why haven't you come in?!'  
He slowly made his way to the exit, and then fell silent. Fiora looked over her shoulder to see what the problem was. Her unspoken question was answered quickly. Two bodies were blocking the exit, their necks snapped.  
She looked back at the creature on the ground, her sword still pressed against its neck.

'You've killed them,' Fiora spoke, not expecting an answer. The creature merely smiled, waving her white tails around behind her. Her orange eyes were aimed straight at Fiora, and she could feel herself being looked over from head to toe. The woman's smile became wider, a mocking smile that enraged and at the same time fascinated Fiora. Her foes always trembled before her. Every single one. They knew that they were looking death in the eye when she'd put a blade to their throats, and trembled under it. But not this woman. She was laughing at her, mocking Fiora in her moment of dominance. A clearer way of challenging her didn't exist.

'You… fox creature. What is your name?'

From outside, three new men came in and gathered around the woman at the edge of Fiora's sword, quickly restraining her.  
'I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours…' the dark-haired woman responded, barely reacting to the heavy chains that had been bound around her arms and legs by the soldiers. 'A shame that I already know your name, little dancer.'

_Little dancer_. The words rang between Fiora's ears and kept getting louder and louder, sending her into a new fit of rage.  
'Commander. I've changed my mind about the mission. You can tell Jarvan that I accept.' Fiora spoke loudly, to make sure he had heard her.  
'You will? Excellent. We need all the help that we can get with this beast,' the commander answered, turning away from his dead underlings. 'I'll appoint a squadron at you tonight, and then we can leave first thing in the morning-'  
'No. I will take her _myself_.'  
He fell silent.  
'I… I can't allow that, my lady,' he finally protested. 'It would be too dangerous. I've been ordered-'  
'And I, Fiora, head of House Laurent and direct subordinate of Jarvan IV, _order_ you to leave this to me. Do you really want to test the chain of command here?'  
'Of course not, my lady. But you couldn't possibly be thinking of trying to-'  
'Others _try_,' she interrupted him. 'I _succeed_. I wíll bring her to the tower, mark my words.'

The commander spent another few worthless minutes in protest, but eventually gave in. He stomped off and took his soldiers with him, leaving Fiora alone with the fox lady, who was now fully bound and chained to the wall. Slowly, the master duelist walked forward, until she was inches away from the barred wall.  
'I'll give you one more chance to tell me your name, stranger. It would be wise to obey. It will make the journey far less… painful.'  
'How tempting,' the fox laughed, staring her straight into the eyes. Fiora could see her own reflection in those yellow orbs, and suddenly felt the urge to draw her sword again. She'd never seen someone so… amused by her threatening display before. It was as if that person was not affected by it at all. It made her more wary, but for some reason also intrigued her greatly.

Fiora kept up her staring match for a few more seconds, before she accepted that the woman was not going to budge. She looked away first, turning around to the now-closed iron door. A swift pull, and Fiora was outside of the holding cell, closing the door behind her. A competitive feeling stirred in her chest. That normally only happened when looking at another skilled duelist. But that fox woman... she had something. Something that other people didn't have. Fiora found herself smiling as she walked out of the dark corridor, back into the sunlight.

That fox might have won the first round… but it was going to be a long journey.

- End of chapter 1 -


	3. Chapter 2 - part one

**Act 2 – To know your enemies**

'_Papa, why do the warriors in Demacia all have different weapons to use? Why doesn't everyone use the same sword, like with other tools?'_

_Fiora's father averted his eyes from the people entering the sparring hall and looked at his daughter. It was the first time that he'd taken her outside with him, and she'd been beyond exited to see where her father went almost every day of the week. Young as she was, her father had already started teaching her about the different kinds of swords and other weapons, when she'd asked him the question._

_'That's because a real weapon is not a tool. It's a personal item. A reflection of one's personality, so to speak. You can say a lot about a person by looking at what kind of weapon he's wearing, and how he uses it. Look, dear. Do you see that man over there, with the big axe?'_

_Her father pointed at the corner of the sparring hall, where a brute-looking man was showing off his muscles to a group of servant women. Fiora nodded, her eyes reflecting the shine of his blade._

_'That axe can tell us a lot about his personality. He's a musclehead, and probably likes using raw power over agility and finesse. That's why he likes to use a brute axe like that, to reflect his personality. And that woman over there, with the big shield? She probably values defence over offence. She might also be afraid to get hurt.'  
__'I see!' little Fiora said enthusiastically, and averted her eyes to a skinny-looking man with a staff in his hand. 'And him? What about him?'  
__'Give it a try, yourself. What do you think?'_

_She did as her father told her to do, and observed every single person inside of the sparring hall. That man was straight-forward and blunt, using a two-handed sword instead of a one-handed one. His neighbour used the same kind, but it was too large for him and was probably just meant to show off. The woman with the assassin's knives had something sneaky about her, like she could fade away into the background at any second._

_Just as she thought she'd seen everyone, the man with the giant axe stepped out of the way and revealed a sparring match between two men. One of them was using a single blade, but Fiora's eyes immediately got pulled towards the other one. It was the first time that she saw a duellist. With a long, thin blade in his hand, the man nimbly attacked his opponent. He had a confident smile on his face and attacked, blocked and countered with the greatest ease, obviously overpowering his sparring partner. Fiora followed the twirling of his weapon with eyes as round as gold coins._

_'It's like he's dancing,' she whispered to herself. 'A dancing artist.'  
'Well said, my daughter,' her father nodded, smiling contently. 'That is a duelist. He's one of my students, actually. Us duelists are known for our dexterity and grace with the sword. Do you like it?'  
'Yes. It's beautiful,' Fiora said, following every step of the man. He briefly looked their way, and when he saw that his master was watching, he threw himself even more passionately into the fight.  
'Would you like to learn it?'  
She abruptly averted her eyes from the sparring couple and looked at her father, her mouth partly open from excitement.  
'Really? I can learn it, too?'  
'Of course, Fiora. You're old enough to start learning, if you want. And our House is famous for its skilled duelists. It's what has made the name Laurent famous all over Valoran. We're artists of the sword, our family. If you want, I could educate you, teach you all that I know. Would you like that?'  
She nodded vigorously. Her cheeks were flushed pink and she'd jumped up from her seat, beaming with excitement.  
'Yes! I want to be an artist. Please teach me, papa? Please?'  
'D'accord. I will teach you how to be an artist of the sword. But in return, you'll have to promise me something, dear.'  
'What is it?'  
Slowly, he bent over to her, pulling away the dark strings of hair that were covering her ear. He smiled mysteriously at his daughter, before whispering:  
'Promise me that you'll become the greatest duellist of them all.'_

* * *

The Grand Duelist sighed as she recalled the memory from so long ago. The world had looked so different back then. Things seemed so much simpler as a five-year old child than a full-grown woman. As she'd grown older, her world had slowly become that much more complicated.

When other memories of her past started to appear in her mind, Fiora quickly shook her head to get rid of them. She couldn't afford to space out in the next few days. Not with the mission that she was on. The Grand Duelist looked behind her, at the iron cage that the horses were pulling along the road. The fox woman had been handcuffed, chained and pinned down at the same time, except for her tails, which had been tightly tied against the steel bars. Fiora had ordered for the strongest metal cage that was available, seeing how she had easily shattered iron before. The commander had supervised the move from the prison to the cage himself, and had assured Fiora that there was no way that she could escape now. But Fiora was still on her guard. The way that the black-haired woman just lay there, smiling calmly at her, made all the hairs in her neck stand on edge. She remembered the two men with their necks snapped like twigs, and they'd been on the other side of a barred door. It was a permanent token of what could happen to her if she stopped paying attention.

'How'd you do it?' Fiora asked, unable to get the visual image out of her head. 'Those two guys behind that door. How did you manage to kill them from inside your cell?'  
'Well, wouldn't you like to know,' the woman said, in a tone that was mocking and seducing at the same time, and bugged Fiora to no end. 'But why should I tell you?'  
Fiora abruptly looked in front of her again, mentally scolding herself for already speaking to her prisoner on the first day. She couldn't familiarize herself with captives.

'I could tell you,' the woman said. She moved upwards from the ground of the cage, as far as her chains allowed her to. Her dress split in two at her waist, revealing a large portion of her thigh. Fiora noticed herself staring at it.  
'I'll tell you what. Let's play a game, little dancer. I'll answer a question of yours, if you answer one of mine.'  
'I'm not playing games with you,' the Grand Duelist said, turning around in the saddle. She reached for her sword, pulling it out of its holder and swiftly bringing it down to her captive's body.  
'And if you ever call me little dancer again, I will cut one of your tails off. Am I clear?'

She remained silent, although her smile grew wider. In the far distance, Fiora could see the sun setting behind the hills. The land around her slowly lost its colour, letting darkness settle in. She would have to make camp soon. In her arrogance, she'd told the commander that she could handle this alone. But because of that, keeping watch at night was going to be a problem. Fiora didn't want to make herself vulnerable by sleeping so close to an obvious enemy, without anything to warn her. But she knew that she couldn't stay awake for four days straight, either.

Eventually, she found a decent place to make camp, near a little stream. Fiora released the horses from pulling the cage and tied them to a tree near the water, already keeping an eye out for logs that she could use for a fire. Within a few minutes, everything was set.  
The commander had given her plenty of supplies, to make sure she wouldn't have to go out hunting and leave the cage alone. Fiora smiled slightly as she opened the bag of provisions, revealing the rich variety of food. Throwing another log on the now blazing fire, she took some bread from the bag and sat down inside its warmth.  
A rumbling sound made Fiora look back up before she could even take a bite. She quickly reached for her sword, which was now next to her on the ground, and looked around her. The forest seemed quiet and peaceful. There was no movement anywhere.  
The Grand Duelist shook her head and sat back down to continue eating, when she heard the same sound again. It was louder this time, and clearly coming from the direction of the steel cage. The fox woman was still lying in the same position as before. But, for the first time, she seemed to try her hardest not to look Fiora in the eyes. And then it clicked.

'Are you hungry?' Fiora asked, smiling mockingly at the woman. 'I suppose beasts don't know any restraint. Does the smell of bread make you yearn that much?'  
The woman refused to answer, looking into the fire emotionlessly. Her eyes seemed even more orange than before, reflecting the flames on the ground.  
'Just so you know, I will not risk feeding you. We'll be at the tower in three days. Manage until then, beast.'  
Slowly, her gaze shifted over from the fire to Fiora.  
'You would leave your escortee without water for four days in a row? I would be dead before we even reached their little tower. And you will be dead before I let that happen, human.'  
'Try me,' Fiora responded, looking straight into the fox' eyes. She seemed tired. No longer trying to lift her body from the bottom of the cage, she merely lay there, silently. A few strands of black hair had fallen across her face, sticking to her cracked lips. Fiora suddenly realized that the woman had already been confined to that cell for two days straight before being transferred to the cage. Probably while going without food or water all that time. She really had to be parched.  
'D'accord. I'll give you water. But move anything other than your mouth while I do so, and I'll make you regret it.'  
'And how will you quench me from way over there?' the woman laughed. 'You don't want to enter this cage. I'm a beast, after all- I might bite off your hand if you put it through the bars.'  
Fiora couldn't help it. She was interested by this strange woman. She was virtually pinned down to the metal cage without being able to move around for more than three inches, and she still managed to sound so arrogant. It was a trait that Fiora shared with her, and while the woman was an enemy, she couldn't help but feel a strange kind of respect. Not many were capable of acting so mockingly calm while being captives.

'I'll show you how. I am an artist with the sword, in more ways than one,' Fiora finally said, sliding the tip of her blade through the ear of a water-filled cup. In a single movement, she then lifted the cup and brought her sword over to the cage, passing through the metal bars.  
'Here, drink. But don't move. I will strike if you as much as lift your little finger.'  
There was no response, after which Fiora lowered the cup to the woman's lips. She tilted the handle and watched as the contents of the cup slowly fell into the fox' mouth. Part of the water spilled, though, dripping on her chin instead and slowly sliding down her neck.  
'Stop making me wet, little dancer.'  
'Do you mean that that is all it takes?' Fiora laughed, her eyebrows slightly rising. 'But I'll leave the experimenting to the sorcerers in the tower, if you don't mind. Animals are not my thing.'  
The woman returned her smile. She suddenly looked a little less tired, as if the water had given her new strength. Once again Fiora noticed her striking, yellowish eyes.  
'What do they want from me in there?' the woman suddenly asked, looking up from the cup of water.  
'I'm merely the escort. Don't ask me. And I'll take my sword back if you're done drinking, beast.'  
'Ahri.'  
Fiora froze halfway of pulling back her weapon from the cage.  
'What?'  
'My name. I am Ahri, the white fox of Ionia.'  
'Do you think I'll give you food now that you've told me your name, Ahri of Ionia?' the Grand Duelist responded, the corners of her mouth tilting slightly upwards. 'Because then you're sorely mistaken.'  
'I thought that humans liked getting rewarded for the services that they provide?' Ahri purred, licking the water drops from her lips.  
'That water is not a service. It's needed to keep my prisoner alive. Don't get the wrong idea, beast.'

Ahri's smile slowly faded, changing into a frown. Apparently insulted, she averted her gaze from the duellist and started to stare into the flames again. Fiora ignored her as best she could. She grabbed another piece of bread from the supplies and silently finished her meal. The minutes passed by slowly, until the sun had completely disappeared behind the hills. Not even the moon was out, making the light from the fire the only source of light that she had.

Just as Fiora wanted to get started on making a place to sleep for herself, Ahri the fox suddenly lifted her head. Her ears were perked straight up, slowly turning on her head towards different directions of the forest around her.  
'Little dancer-'  
'Do you want to lose your tails that badly?' Fiora snapped, about to reach for her sword again.  
'That's not it. Are you expecting company?'  
Her question confused Fiora. This was an abandoned forest trail. Travellers barely went this way, which made it very unlikely for robbers to appear, as well. Was the fox trying to trick her somehow?  
'I'm not. What are you talking about?'  
'Then you are not going to like this, human,' Ahri smiled, ignoring her question. 'And I suggest you pick up that sword there, as well, because you will be pounced by it soon.'  
'Stop telling lies-'

And then she heard it. A single twig, snapping to her right. The Grand Duelist quickly reached for her weapon and assumed a fighting stance. Her eyes shot from one edge of the fire's light to the other. Long, dark shadows were moving in between the trees, shadows that were not cast by the fire's flames. This was not good. The men, or whatever they were, had snuck up on her this much without her noticing. Why hadn't she noticed?

'Show yourselves, cowards!' she yelled into the darkness. But there was no response. Instead, she could feel a familiar chill run down her spine, like the one she'd felt back in Demacia, just before Ahri had attacked her. Instinctively, Fiora raised her sword a little. Something, she wasn't sure of what it was, was moving in between the trees to her right. It cast a massive shadow, much bigger than that of an ordinary person. Red eyes peered at her from the darkness, and all of a sudden, a chilly gust of wind blew across the encampment, blowing out her campfire. The whole area went dark in an instant.

Fiora cursed under her breath. Her now blinded eyes scanned around her, trying to find out where her opponent was, but met with nothing but darkness. Even the red eyes from a second ago had vanished.  
'To your right!'  
To her own surprise, Fiora answered that call without hesitating. She lunged out east of her and heard a loud clang; her sword hit something hard and metallic. Quickly, she stepped back and charged again. The second _bang _was like music to Fiora's ears; even without her eyesight, she could do this.

Confidently, Fiora shut her eyes and instead relied only on her ears to tell her where her enemy was. Loud, heavy footsteps circled around her, trying to bypass Fiora and get to the cage. Fiora swiftly turned around and brought down her sword at what she knew had to be the man's arm. But instead of cutting flesh, her blade merely scratched off of more metal- was he wearing full body armour? If so, then how on Valoran had he been able to sneak up on her? The clanking and rattling was supposed to be hearable from miles away!  
'Who are you?' Fiora tried again, raising her weapon. 'Identify yourself!'

As a response, Fiora heard something swing through the air right next to her head and crash into the ground to her left. She couldn't see the weapon, but it had to be something massive. An axe, maybe? No, that wasn't right- the sound was different. The weapon didn't chop into the ground, but almost seemed to hammer itself down. Her lack of eyesight annoyed Fiora; how was she supposed to know what she was fighting against if she couldn't see her opponent?  
'Left, little dancer!'  
The voice called out to her again, and this time the Grand Duelist realized who it was. She hesitated to react- the fox had to be tricking her!

She was soon proven wrong. The air to her left moved, and shortly after, something sharp grazed her arm, leaving a deep scratch mark across her skin. Fiora quickly jumped back, gritting her teeth from pain. She could feel the blood dripping out of the wound, at the same time weakening her and giving her a rush of adrenaline. She had to end this quickly, while she still knew where her opponent was. In a sudden burst of energy, she lunged forward, her sword aimed straight at the intruder's neck. Her blade scraped past something that felt like a helmet and then slid underneath, making Fiora smile briefly. She knew she'd pierced his neck; the fight would be over soon.  
But something was wrong. Her blade scraped underneath the metal, even went out at the other side, but there was no flesh. Nothing to pierce. She only felt stale air, and out of pure disbelief, Fiora retracted her sword and took a few steps back.

'You... what are you?' she muttered. Fiora opened her eyes and stared straight into a different pair. Red, glowing eyes pierced forth from the darkness and were aimed straight at her, coming closer slowly. The heavy, iron footsteps made the ground next to her tremble at every step. Fiora raised her sword, bracing herself for the next attack.

But it never came. Fiora frantically tried to look through the darkness, anticipate where the armoured guy would strike next. But there was a complete silence. Suddenly, the red eyes disappeared, as well as the clanking next to her. The clouds that were blocking the moon passed, allowing the campsite to be bathed in a pale light. And the attacker from just a few seconds ago was nowhere to be seen. Anywhere. Fiora was alone.  
Where had he gone?

On her guard, she carefully scanned the trees around her. The landscape was peaceful again, as if nothing had happened at all in the last ten minutes. As if it had all been a dream. But the painful scratch on Fiora's arm proved otherwise; there really had been someone there just seconds ago, trying to tear her limbs off.

'Was that one of your friends trying to help you out?' she asked, slowly turning back to the metal cage. 'Or some secret admirer? Rescue attempts don't usually go that well if you inform me of them, fox.'  
'It was not a rescue attempt,' Ahri said, calmly staring up at Fiora. 'And that was not one of my friends.'  
'Then who was it?' Fiora mumbled, more to herself than to her prisoner. 'And where'd the bastard go?'  
'I don't know, little dancer. But I would be on my guard, if I were you.'

Ahri didn't have to tell her twice. After carefully lighting her fire again, Fiora made herself a torch from an old branch and scouted the immediate area around the encampment. But there was nothing there. It was as if the entire attack had just not taken place. As if there hadn't been a human sneaking up on her that almost took her entire arm off. If not for the deep footprints in the ground, made by his metal boots stomping around, she would have started doubting herself. But she wasn't hallucinating- her attacker had been real.  
Where had he gone?

As time ticked by and there remained no trace of her enemy, Fiora returned to the campfire. She was tired; she could feel her own reflexes starting to slow down from being up for the second night in a row. If Fiora didn't take some time to rest now, she would be in serious trouble if she got into a fight later.

With that thought in mind, the Grand Duelist finally sighed and fetched a simple sleeping blanket from the horse's saddle bags. Just a short rest, she thought, as she spread out the blanket next to the campfire. Enough to refill her energy level a little, ightly enough so that she could react immediately if something decided to attack her again. That was the plan. Fiora sighed and lied down on the blanket, tiny rocks and stones poking into her back through the thin fabric. This was as comfortable as she was going to get, probably. The Grand Duelist took her sword from its sheath and placed it next to her on the ground, within arm's reach.  
For now, this was all that she could do.  
Slowly, her eyes fell shut.

* * *

A tranquil silence lay over the woods between Demacia and the Serpentine river. It was dark, but a bright, pale moon occasionally shone through strands of clouds, bathing the treetops in a pale glow. Frogs were the only ones to break the silence, peacefully croaking in the ocassional pond.  
Suddenly, that tranquillity was disrupted. A flurry of metal shards soared through the air and hammered into the surrounding trees, barely missing their target- a single rogue mage. His purple skin and many tattoos seemed to glow in the pale moonlight, and strapped to his back was a single, large scroll. Back in Demacia, everyone knew him as Ryze.

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, zigzagging around trees. Heavy, clanking footsteps could be heard behind him. Ryze took a nosedive to the ground just in time, evading another array of metal shards by an inch. The fall crippled him, though, as his trousers got stuck in a bush of sharp vines.  
Seconds later, his chaser arrived. Heavy, metal plates shimmered in the darkness and the man raised a large, black mace with spikes at Ryze's body as he growled:  
_'Found you.'_

Ryze didn't give him the chance to speak another word. Immediately, he released the magic stored within his body and sent it flying towards his attacker. Runes shone around him brightly, trapping him in a magical prison. Another spell from Ryze caused a wild flurry of energy to bounce around between the two, hitting trees and bushes and blinding his foe. As Ryze quickly untangled himself, he saw that his magic had set some of the leaves on fire. He hesitated.  
But then the rogue mage violently shook his head. He turned around, vanishing into the darkness.

The mage's pursuer eventually broke free, resuming his assault. He too, vanished into the surrounding blackness. Soon, what had been a battle scene returned back to a peaceful forest. Silence returned.

But the frogs's croaking was gone. In the pale moonlight, embers from the burning leaves slowly floated to the ground. They settled on the short, dry grass. The fire immediately jumped over, rapidly setting the ground ablaze.

And there was no one left to put it out.


	4. Chapter 2 - part two

To Pupup: I can't answer you directly, so I'll just leave this here. Thank you very much, I'm glad you're liking it so far. ^^ Hopefully it will stay that way, hehe.

* * *

**Act two - part two**

_A scream of agony passed her lips as Fiora stepped back without placing her foot right. The sword slipped out of her tiny hand, crashing down to the floor below. She rapidly pulled her leg back up, but it was already too late. A small, red burn appeared on her heel, resulting from the burning coal behind her. Fiora sunk down, gasping for air. Above her, her father slowly placed his own blade against her chest. His eyes scanned the room that they were sparring in; a large ballroom, purposely filled with dangerous obstacles and even a few still smouldering coals from the fireplace, burning hot on the floor tiles._

_'Get up.'_

_Fiora gulped, trying frantically to keep the tears from leaving her eyes. At that same moment, the large, wooden doors of the ballroom were thrown open. Her mother and oldest brother came running in, followed closely by Fiora's uncle.  
'What are you doing?!'_

_'Julie,' he greeted his wife calmly. 'Would you be so kind as to take Jean-Pierre and leave this room? We're in the middle of practice. Fiora, get up.'  
'You can't train her in this room yet, father!' her brother yelled, taking another step inside. 'You've barely started training me here! She's too young!'  
'She's asked for it,' Fiora's father replied. He removed the blade from his daughter's chest, after which she wobbly tried to stand back up. 'See this as a lesson, Fiora. You must always pay attention to your surroundings. We'll start again from the middle of the room-'_

_'Camillo, __**she's just a child**__!' Julie screamed, trying to manoeuvre around the scorching coals on the floor. 'You're torturing her! I will not allow you to harm our child with your ridiculous ambitions, not when she's only ten years old!'_

_A long, heavy silence fell after she'd spat out those words. Fiora's uncle and brother merely gawked, dumbfounded, while a silent battle of wills took place between Julie and her husband. The cold chills that their eyes sent each other were almost enough to douse the burning coals. It was about to turn into a shouting match, when both got distracted by the scraping of metal on the floor. Fiora had finally gotten up, her sword back in her hand. Her tiny feet were placed firmly between the cinders, their glow reflecting in her big, blue eyes._

_'I can do this.'_

_'Don't be foolish, sweetheart,' her mother replied, calling her from the other side of the room. 'This kind of practice is not meant for a young girl like you. You'll hurt yourself. Now come over here-'  
'Leave us,' the child said, with a voice suddenly as harsh as the cold stone that she was standing on. 'I can do this!'_

_To prove her words, she brought the sword up to her chest in the traditional way of salutation and then pressed it against her father's blade, ready to continue. The man's eyes started to sparkle._

_'Do you see, Jean-Pierre? There it is. That's what you lack as a duellist, right there. Talent, honour, discipline- and the soul of a true fighter. She has it, and by Demacia, I will make her realize her true potential if it kills me. Fiora! Stand ready!'  
'Camillo, __**stop it**__!'  
_'Little dancer! _Fiora, wake up!_'

The scream abruptly awoke Fiora from the dream. She jumped up, blinking furiously to lose the fiery image in her head. But it wouldn't go away. Instead, the scorching heat from the coals mingled itself with the scenery around her. The trees looked as if they were taken straight out of a nightmare- large, orange flames wrapped themselves around their bark, swallowing the plants whole within seconds. The treetops were burning and between their roots, the raging flames spread across the grassy ground like it was made of oil.

The forest was on fire.

Fiora quickly stepped back from the burning grass in front of her, only to be met by the same heat in her back. The fire had already spread around the entire encampment. It devoured her sleeping blanket and threw itself on the bags of supplies, almost as if the flames knew what they were doing. A large, fiery wall had spread itself between her and the river, making it impossible to reach the horses. Fiora could hear their panicked cries as the fire grabbed the tree that they were tied to. She tried to run around the fire, but it was too late. The animals were lost. And so was she, if she would stay here for any longer.

With a cry of frustration, Fiora abandoned the horses and turned around to start running. Even she couldn't do anything against a forest fire. This mission was forfeit. Fiora snatched her swords from the already burning ground, the flames hungrily reaching for her legs. She was already halfway the lower part of the river when a scream full of agony pulled her back. The fire had reached the iron cage, and was slowly turning it into a grill. Ahri fought against her chains, slammed her furry tails against the bars and even bit into the metal handcuffs, desperately trying to get out. But this time, she was stuck.

And within a few minutes, she would get burned alive.

Fiora couldn't let her die like that.

Cursing her own humanity, she dashed back over to the cage, that was now shaking heavily from Ahri's tails. Fiora grabbed the barred door, groaning from pain when she felt the flames reaching out to her just below the cage.

'Stop it- Stop shaking the cage, you stupid fox!'

A few painful seconds later, she'd fetched the key from her pocket and turned it in the lock, opening the barred door. Ahri's eyes widened as she watched the door swing out of her sight. She slammed her tails against the bars again, making Fiora lose her balance and fall on top of the woman's body.  
'I told you to stop shaking! We'll get burned alive like this!'

Two more keys, and her arms were loose. At that same moment, one of the steel bars finally snapped under the combined pressure of the flames and Ahri's panicked slamming. With a large bang it flew out of sight, finally freeing one of her tails. Before Fiora could blink, that same tail slammed into her body and flung her from the burning cage, into the grass.

'You ungrateful little-' she gasped, smoke covering her eyes and nose. The fox woman disappeared from sight as Fiora smacked against the ground, hitting her head on a loose rock. She quickly rolled over, away from the flames that were now practically everywhere. The thick, black smoke made it hard to see what was going on around her. Fiora held her breath to keep the smoke from smothering her, slowly moving away from the now empty cage. She wouldn't last long like this. If she didn't find a way out quick-

A loud snapping noise sounded above her; the very next second, she could feel Ahri's body slamming into her at full speed, knocking her back at least ten feet. The impact squeezed all of the air from her lungs, making her gasp loudly. Was Ahri going to strangle her in the middle of the forest fire?!

'Move!'

Ahri's chains hit Fiora's side as the fox woman grabbed her and pulled her up violently, trying to drag her along. Fiora quickly looked behind her, at the spot where she'd been standing just a second ago. A thick, burning branch had crashed down from the nearest tree and fallen down, piercing the ground underneath. If the Grand Duelist had continued to stand on that spot, it would have instantly killed her.

Ahri had saved her life.

'Follow the river!' Fiora yelled, trying to be heard over the raging of the flames. 'It ends in a lake, not far from here! If we go there, we'll be safe!'

She wasn't sure whether Ahri had heard her or not, but the fox woman let go of her arms as soon as she'd stood up and started running. By now, the flames were everywhere. Fiora's clothes got scorched as she dashed past the red grass and burning shrubs, the fire trying to grab her at every step. Through the thick, black smoke, she could see Ahri's tails waving behind her as the fox tried to clear a path to the water. More flaming branches fell down to her left and right. The whole path was slowly turning into a blazing inferno, with no way out but through the little stream running downhill.

'Watch out!'

The tree next to Ahri collapsed under the scorching heat. With an ear-piercing screech, the bark snapped loose from the rest of the plant, shooting hot cinders everywhere. The flames followed, hungrily reaching for Ahri's clothes. The woman reacted immediately. Moving her ears slightly, she put out her hand and reached straight into the flames. Fiora opened her mouth to let out a scream, when she saw that the fire was behaving strangely. Twisting around her outstretched fingers, three groups of flames came loose from the blazing fire and gathered at her feet. Fiora slowed down and squinted her eyes to look at the flames better. They were moving back and forth unnaturally, almost as if they were being controlled by the woman.

'Foxfire,' Fiora mumbled, deeply impressed. 'Where did you learn to do that?'

Ahri merely laughed, glancing back over her shoulder. The bright, orange flames reflected in her eyes, almost making it look like she was a part of the fire around her. The sheer power radiating from the woman made all of the hairs in Fiora's neck stand on edge. The next moment, Ahri averted her gaze and opened her mouth, whispering to the flames around her.

_'Clear the way.'_

They reacted immediately, bouncing away from her and into the blazing fire. Fiora watched as the little lumps absorbed the other flames, like snowballs becoming bigger and bigger as they took on more snow. Soon, a small black trail was carved out of the burning ground.

'Come on!'

Ahri reached behind her, grabbing Fiora's wrist as the woman kept looking at the foxfires dancing around them. The way that they moved was hypnotizing. Ahri's cold touch snapped her out of it and she quickly looked back at the woman, who had already let go of her hand.  
'Move, little dancer! This won't last long.'

She looked like she was about to say something else, but her words were cut off by a coughing fit. The thick, black smoke had started to get stuck between the treetops, pressing down on the two women and slowly taking away what little air that they had left. Fiora saw the effort it cost Ahri to breathe, and took the lead. The first embers had already jumped back into the trail, trying to set it on fire a second time. They got crushed underneath her shoes as the Grand Duelist lead Ahri past the flames. In the far distance, she could finally see the little stream that they'd been heading for. It looked ridiculously tiny among the burning trees, but it was big enough to hide in. Yelling her thoughts back at the woman behind her, Fiora sped up even more. Soon, the two left the trees behind them and skipped across the burning helms of grass, finally reaching the water. Fiora dived in head-first. She jumped the last few meters until she could feel the cool stream on her tormented skin. The water didn't even reach up to her knees, making her fall a rather painful one. But that was all right. Her clothes had already started burning.

Soon, Fiora could hear a large splash next to her. Ahri had caught up and fell into the water, coughing loudly from the smoke. Quickly, Fiora waded towards her and pulled her up. She placed her on her side, putting her dark-haired head just above the water.

'Stay low. We'll suffocate if we breathe in any more smoke.'

The woman didn't resist. She put her head on Fiora's thigh, still gasping for air. Slowly, her coughing became less, until the woman's breathing was back to normal. Fiora glanced down on her, a tiny voice in the back of her head screaming that this person was still an enemy. She ignored the voice. Ahri's long, black strands of hair got tugged at and pulled along by the stream. Fiora noticed herself staring at it.  
Finally, the fox spoke.  
'I thought that you weren't going to make me wet anymore. Now look at me.'  
'Oh, shut up.'

Fiora's gaze strayed from Ahri's dark head to her hand, which she'd put into the water. It was badly burnt.  
'You're hurt.'  
'So are you,' Ahri said, with a voice that was coarse from the smoke. Fiora's own voice didn't sound much better.  
'But your hand- didn't you use magic?'  
'I did. And at a price. Wild fire isn't easy to tame.'  
She moved upwards a bit, gently pushing away the hand that Fiora had put out to keep Ahri from breathing in water. Her large, yellowish eyes turned towards Fiora's face, confusion written inside of them.  
'Why did you save me from that cage?'  
'Why did you save me from that tree?' Fiora said, returning the question. 'And with your spirit magic, later on?'  
'Instinct, little dancer,' she answered, slowly moving back through the water, until there was some distance between the two. 'Helping you gave me an increased survival rate. But there was nothing for you to gain from running back in order to let me out. Why did you do that, human?'  
'I couldn't just let you burn to ashes in there, if that's what you mean.' Fiora raised her eyebrows slightly. 'My honour won't let me do something that low.'  
The ears on the side of her head turned towards Fiora as she spoke, occasionally flipping back and forth. Fiora noticed herself staring at it.  
'Honour,' the woman said, after a long silence. 'You did that because of honour?'  
'And you saved me right after that, which makes us even.'

Fiora grabbed for the sword on her side as she said that, planning on placing it on the fox' throat. But the sheath was empty. It had probably fallen out in the woods somewhere, during the wild run towards the river. Fiora silently cursed her own carelessness. That had been her favourite weapon.

'You're wrong.'

Fiora stopped trying to remember where she'd dropped her sword, and turned her attention back to Ahri. Her look, with dripping wet hair and the glow from the fire lighting up around her like a blazing sun, made something inside of Fiora move.

'Saving the other's life doesn't make us even, little dancer,' Ahri said slowly, lowering herself in the water as much as possible to escape the hot air. Fiora frowned, following her example.  
'Then what does it do, fox, if it doesn't make us even?'

Reams of hot air drifted by over their heads as the two women looked at each other, their heads inches away from the cool water.

'Saving each other's life- it creates a bond.'  
'And what is that supposed to mean?'  
'It means that I can't kill you anymore.'

Ahri went silent, tilting her head to the side a little while waiting for Fiora's reaction. Fiora just stared at her, blinking her eyes against the scorching heat behind them.  
'Well, isn't that convenient. I've lost my sword in that race just now, so I don't think I can kill you anymore either.'

A small smile appeared on Ahri's face. She relaxed her muscles, letting her body rest on a small boulder at the bottom of the creek.  
'You're a strange one, little dancer. I like you.'

Try as she might, Fiora could not keep herself from smiling a little, as well. There was something about this fox… about Ahri, that kept fascinating her. Fiora had never felt this interested in a stranger before. Had Ahri been a duelist, then she would probably have been a worthy rival. Fiora nodded to herself and aimed her eyes upward, to the burning sky above them. It was sunrise, and it was hard to tell where the fire's flames ended and the orange clouds began.

'We'll be stuck down here for some time,' Fiora finally spoke, turning her head back to Ahri. 'A few hours at minimum, before the biggest fires have died down.'  
'What will you do after the flames have exhausted themselves?' Ahri asked, looking up at Fiora from the boulder. Both chains around her legs and one on her left arm were still there, and she fruitlessly tried to pull them loose.  
'I could try and drag you to the Tower by your chains,' Fiora joked. 'After I find my sword, that is.'  
'Is it that important to get me over there?'  
Fiora shrugged. 'I don't know. I don't care, either. But I've agreed to fulfill this mission, and I always keep my promises.'  
'Because of your honour?'  
'Exactly.'  
Slowly, Ahri's smile faded. It got replaced by a serious expression that Fiora had not seen on her face before. The black ears on her head slowly moved downwards, and a distant look appeared in her eyes. She mumbled softly to herself, but not soft enough so that Fiora couldn't hear it.

'Could that be… what makes you human…?'

Fiora frowned, but remained silent. Her hand kept sliding back to the sheath on her side. She felt naked, without her trusty sword within hand's reach. If she couldn't find it again later, which was very likely, then she would have to get a replacement as soon as possible.

'Well, let's go then, human.'

Fiora had to let those words sink in several times in order to realize their meaning. At first, she thought that Ahri must have said something else entirely. Confused, she turned her gaze towards the fox.  
'Excuse me?'  
'You've got to get me to that tower. So let's go.'  
Fiora slowly opened and closed her mouth again, unable to find words that fit her confusion. Was Ahri playing a trick on her again? To make her lower her guard, so that she could do… what?

'You're not… going to run away?' she finally managed to say. 'You're supposed to go there as a prisoner. Are you okay with that?'  
'No,' Ahri said, smiling mysteriously.  
'Then what are you saying? Don't try to confuse me, animal,' Fiora reacted, slightly annoyed at the fox' sly smile. Slowly, Ahri lifted one of her tails from the water and moved it to where Fiora was, gently brushing against the skin of her arm. The touch sent tingles all the way to Fiora's fingertips, and for a second she was torn between pulling away quickly and reaching out to grab the furry tail.

'It's probably in our… mutual interest if we stay together a while longer, little dancer,' Ahri finally spoke.  
'Why?' Fiora asked. Her eyes were squinted together suspiciously.  
'I've taken an interest in you,' Ahri said, still smiling. 'And you need to keep me with you, don't you?'  
'I do. But what's it to you?'

By now, the tip of Ahri's tail had slowly wrapped itself around Fiora's upper arm.

'I… want to learn.'  
'Learn? Learn what?' Fiora asked. She finally reached out with her other hand and slapped the tail away from her skin, ending the constant tingling.  
'How to act human. I… want to know how to be human. You can teach me, and in exchange, I'll help you finish your mission. That sounds fair, doesn't it?'  
Fiora frowned. Her mind was working at full speed, trying to figure out what kind of trick could be behind the woman's words. But her thoughts came up with nothing.  
'This is not a trick, is it? You're asking me this seriously?'  
'Yes.'  
**'**You'll come with me willingly?' Fiora asked, still not convinced in the slightest. 'Without resisting?'  
'That's the idea, little dancer. Will you let me?'

Fiora stayed silent, looking upon the woman in front of her from the other side of the tiny creek. She had plenty of reasons to refuse, but just as many reasons to accept, as well. If the word of that fox was trustworthy at all, this was the perfect solution to her failing mission. And if her offer ended up being a trap, after all… Fiora would probably be able to beat her in a fight, as soon as she had her weapon back.

So… if that was how it was going to be… maybe she could take a chance.

'All right,' Fiora said, nodding once. 'I accept.'  
'Of course,' Ahri responded. Her previous sly smile had returned in all its glory, making her face seem like it was radiating from the flames' glow. She was about to move over to where Fiora was, when the woman sharply cut her off.  
'But I'm warning you, Ahri. One wrong move, one threat, give me one single reason to make me think you're tricking me in any way possible… and I will make sure it's the last thing you do. Are we clear?'  
'Of course, little dancer,' she replied, not losing even a little bit of her smile. 'I won't do something like that… Don't you trust me?'

_-End of act 2-_


	5. Chapter 3 - part one

**Act 3 - to know your enemies**

* * *

'You're sure you saw me drop it over here?

Fiora and Ahri were standing in the middle of the remains from the forest after the fire. The tall, majestic trees that had reached for the sky before had been reduced to mere stumps and scorched bark, lying in pieces on the blackened ground. Dust and ash swirled around Fiora's feet as she carefully turned over the fallen wood on the path, looking for her lost sword underneath the wreckage.  
'I'm sure,' Ahri replied, a few feet away from her. 'Just after I knocked you to the ground last night. It slid out of its sheath and landed somewhere… over there.'  
She pointed to a spot east of where Fiora was searching. They'd backtracked their footsteps from the river so far that they'd almost reached the campsite again. In the distance, Fiora could see the remains of the heavy, iron cage. The thing had fallen over and its bars had cracked from the scorching heat, snapping to the inside and piercing the metal bottom. They would have gone right through Ahri's body, if she'd remained inside of there. Fiora noticed the fox woman briefly looking at the cage, as well.

'I think you've got your facts mixed up, Ahri. There's nothing here.'  
'Maybe your sword got melted down by the flames?' the nine-tailed fox suggested, looking passively at the ground around her, while Fiora started shoving piles of ash out of the way with her feet. 'It did look rather flimsy.'  
'It's a duelist sword. It's supposed to look like that,' Fiora answered over her shoulder, her attention at the ground in front of her. 'And don't worry about it melting. It's made of etheryian steel, so a little heat shouldn't be a problem.'  
'Etheryian?' Ahri repeated, surprise sounding through in her voice. 'Spirit steel?'  
'You're well informed, fox,' Fiora smiled. Her fingers wrapped themselves around a big, snapped log, pulling it up and feeling the ground underneath. There was nothing there but more ash. Disappointed, she put the log back down and returned to a standing position. She roughly brushed the ash off of her uniform. Maybe this was pointless. Her trusty weapon could literally be anywhere between this point and the river, which was a lot more ground to cover than she could on her own. Even if she came down here with more people later…

At that very moment, a metallic scraping sounded behind her. Fiora quickly turned around, just in time to see Ahri randomly reach between the burnt shrubs, as if in a lucky guess, and pull out the very thing that they'd been looking for. The Grand Duelist's rapier was stained with black spots and the hilt had gotten damaged from the flames, but that was nothing that a decent blacksmith couldn't repair. A great feeling of relief came over Fiora as she saw her trusty weapon again and she automatically reached out with her hand to take it from Ahri.  
'You found it. Thank you.'

Just as her fingers were inches away from the steel, Ahri suddenly pulled away, leaving Fiora to grab at mere air. The fox hid the weapon behind her back, one of her tails wrapping itself around the hilt and lifting it far out of Fiora's reach.  
'What are you doing?'  
Ahri chuckled, slowly stepping away from the woman. Her ears were moving to the sides of her head rapidly, paired with a facial expression that Fiora could only interpret as challenging.

'Would you like to have your needle back, little dancer?' she purred softly.  
'Ahri, hand it over. I don't have time for games,' Fiora said, annoyed with the fox.  
'Oh, but didn't you know? Us foxes love playing with our prey.'

Fiora took three whole seconds to stare her down, before saying: 'Hand it over, or I'll make you hand it to me the hard way.'  
'How tempting,' she responded, her smile widening. 'But can you even do that? I don't think you can.'  
Her tail lightly brushed against Fiora's still outstretched arm, sending familiar tingles through her body.

'I wonder, little dancer… which one of us would last longer?'

Slowly, Ahri's tail slid further along Fiora's skin. The rapier had now fully disappeared between her other tails, and Fiora found herself captured by the woman's yellow eyes.  
'Fine,' Fiora growled, finally reaching her limit. 'You want to play? _Let's play_.'

In a single movement, she twisted her arm out of the fox' grasp. Fiora grabbed the tail that was wrapped around her other arm, burying her sharp nails deep into the fur. Ahri wasn't prepared for that and tried to yank herself loose from Fiora's nails, but without effect. She then pulled back the entire tail, causing Fiora's feet to lift from the ground as she held onto the fur. Soon, the Grand Duelist was hanging sideways in the air, tensing every muscle in her right arm to keep herself from tilting over.

The combined weight and pain from the nails digging into her tail proved to be too much for Ahri. Distracted, she tried to step back, but tripped over one of the many now blackened tree roots. Ahri let out a surprised yelp and fell over, in a mingle of black hair and white tails. Fiora saw the fall coming and quickly let go, ending up right on top of the fox.  
'Is this supposed to be a challenge?' she said in a low voice. Her hands quickly grabbed Ahri's wrists and pulled them above her head, keeping her pressed down. The ground underneath the two lied full of sharp branches and bark, and being forced on the ground like that had to hurt, but Ahri merely laughed, looking up at her.  
'Don't hold back.'  
Fiora reacted by gripping her wrists even tighter.  
'I never hold back.'

With her arms tied, Ahri couldn't move. Fiora tightly held her in place. She gazed deep into the fox' eyes, silently fighting a battle of willpower, forcing her to look away first. And eventually, she did. With a sly smile, Ahri closed her eyes and faced away from the woman on top of her. A metallic clang sounded to her right; she'd finally let go of Fiora's weapon.

'You're stronger than you look, little dancer.'  
'Of course,' Fiora responded. She released the nine-tailed fox from her grasp, quickly fetching her weapon from the ground. With a sigh, she let the blade slide back into its sheath, feeling a strange sense of relief. Not having her rapier around really did make her feel uneasy.  
'Are you going to pull stunts like this the whole way?' Fiora asked. 'Because then I'll tie you up in advance so I won't have to deal with it.'  
Ahri stayed silent, merely flashing the sly smile that Fiora had become very familiar with by now. She picked herself up from the ground and brushed the ashes off of her clothes.  
'It's a day's march to the nearest tavern from here,' Fiora spoke, thinking out loud. 'We'll get a new horse, and ride straight to the Tower from there on out. Any questions?'  
'One. Which way?' Ahri grinned.  
'Follow me.'

Both Ahri and Fiora were fast walkers, but it still took them the entire morning to get out of the burnt forest area. It had really been a huge fire the other night. Fiora couldn't help but wonder what had caused it. Natural circumstances? A blown up cargo, or a robbery gone wrong? Or something else entirely? This place wasn't that far from the Noxian border. Ever since the League of Legends had been established a few years ago, war outside of the arena was officially forbidden. But maybe warriors from Noxus and Demacia had ran into each other, and a fight had broken out? With the wrong people, things could get destroyed very fast. Or blown up. Or torn to shreds. Or evaporated.

Or worse.

Slowly, Fiora rubbed over the wound on her shoulder. It had already started healing, but the gash was pretty deep. And the person who had made the wound had yet to pay for it. Fiora frowned as she thought back on the fight. Could it have been one of the warriors from Noxus? That would explain why he'd charged at her like that. But then why did he suddenly disappear? And why hadn't he come back yet?

And there was something else about him that bothered the Grand Duelist. Back then, she was sure that she'd pierced right through his neck. But he hadn't even flinched, and afterwards, there had been no blood on her blade. How was that possible? Had someone played a mind trick on her?  
'Ahri,' she said, getting the woman's attention immediately. 'Do you remember the man attacking us, just before the forest fire?'  
'Yes,' she reacted. Her ears were moving back and forth on her head, tuning into the whistling of birds in the trees around them.  
'Was he real?'  
'What do you mean?' Ahri asked.  
'Something doesn't add up about him,' Fiora said, biting her lip slightly. She didn't really want to share her thoughts with the fox woman in the first place, but there was no one else around. And even if Ahri couldn't be trusted yet, she might think of something that the Grand Duelist hadn't thought of.  
'The fight with him makes no sense. I'm sure my attacks should have killed him, but they didn't seem to do anything. It was almost… like he was dead while being alive, if that makes any sense. And those two guards, back in Demacia. Their deaths don't add up, as well. Are they connected?'  
'Oh, but that was something different,' Ahri said, smiling at Fiora. 'I did that. They were already dead by the time that you reached my cell.'  
How was that possible? They'd seemed very much alive when Fiora had walked by, even bowing to her. So how could they be dead at the same time? She voiced her thoughts to Ahri, making the woman smile even more.  
'I'll show you. Draw your sword.'

Fiora raised her eyebrows, but did as the woman said and reached for the rapier on her side. As she pulled it out of its sheath, her eyes grew large. It looked just as it had before the fire, shining brilliantly in the sunlight. There was no trace of stains anywhere, and the previously damaged hilt was as good as new.

'How did you do that?' Fiora mumbled, slowly stroking the blade with her fingers. As she pulled back her hand, she suddenly noticed the ash on her fingertips.  
'It's still there,' Ahri explained. 'I just made it look like it wasn't there anymore.'  
'How?'  
She stayed silent, daring Fiora to figure it out by herself. Fiora frowned. She rubbed over the blade again, waving her hand in front of it, but with no reaction. Then she aimed her gaze at Ahri. Something seemed… off about her. Different. It took Fiora a while to realize what it was, after which she pointed to the woman.  
'You're missing a tail.'  
'That's right,' Ahri nodded. She looked behind her, at the eight pieces of white fur that were still attached to her body. There was no mistaking it: it really were eight, while before it had been nine.  
'Why?'  
'Figure it out by yourself, little dancer,' Ahri smiled. 'It's not that hard if you think it through.'

Fiora frowned. She didn't like Ahri toying with her like that. But she'd gotten her curious, anyway. Carefully, she thought about the things she'd seen and opened her mouth.

'You… use your tails to make people see illusions?'  
'One per person per illusion,' was her answer. 'The spirit essence of Ionia is stored in there. I use that. Of course, when it's used up, the tail disappears for a while.'  
Fiora was not familiar with Ionia, or spirit essence, other than that it was loosely connected to the steel of her blade. Although she knew the basics, most talk about essence and magic was foreign to her. She shrugged, deciding not to think about it too much. If it helped her, that was enough. While Ahri was not a threat, at least. But it did make the Grand Duelist wonder what other tricks that fox woman had up her sleeve.

The day passed by quietly, and at the beginning of nightfall, the two women had finally reached the tavern. It was a traveller's refuge, located exactly between Demacia and the Tower, that served both as a research institute and a watchtower to keep tabs on the border with Noxus. Travellers headed for home and merchants alike made much use of the tavern. Although most of them didn't tend to come straight out of the black woods, like Ahri and Fiora did.

'We'll stay here for the night,' Fiora declared. 'Try to lay low, if that's possible.'  
'Why?' Ahri asked.  
'You're going to attract a lot of attention already, looking like that. And if they kick you out, I need to leave, too. I'd rather spend the night in a bed than on the ground again.'  
'Will you share your bed with me, little dancer?' Ahri purred, smiling.  
'I'll let you sleep on the rug near the fireplace, where a good pet is supposed to sleep,' Fiora shot back. Ahri laughed, not offended in the slightest. She turned away from Fiora and started walking towards the tavern, which was just a field away. Fiora quickly followed. She would never admit it, but she was looking forward to a soft, comfy bed. Even though she had trained herself to sleep on hard surfaces, the rocky ground rigged with tree roots still wasn't very comfortable to lie on. A good night's sleep would give Fiora the energy she needed. And who knew? There was even a chance that there was a blacksmith present in that tavern that could fix her blade.

Of course, it would not turn out that way.

As soon as she reached the tavern, the Grand Duelist knew that there was something wrong. She'd been to this building before, and the tavern was well-known for its warm atmosphere and the sound of laughter and dancing coming out from behind the glass windows. The place was largely made of wood and very cosy-looking, putting every traveller at ease as soon as they set foot inside.

But none of that cosy feeling was there when Fiora and Ahri arrived. The area in front of the building was deserted, with horse carts parked all over the place, as if the people in it had been in a hurry to get off. There was no music coming from behind the large, glass windows and the shutters were closed, making it impossible to look inside. There was an eerie feeling all over the place, and Fiora felt the hairs in her neck raise from tension.

Slowly, she walked over to the nearest horse cart. It had been driven as close to the heavy, wooden front door as possible, and had then just been abandoned. Coming closer, Fiora bowed down and examined the back of the cart. The wood was splintered, as if something sharp had been fired at it. She scratched some flints away with her nails and saw something grey etched deep into the cart.  
A bullet? No, that wasn't it. The shape was wrong. It was something else. Fiora tried to grab the little piece of metal, but it was stuck. She couldn't get it out.

'Fiora,' Ahri sounded to her right. 'Look over here.'  
Fiora stood back up and turned towards her companion. Ahri was right in front of the entrance, pointing to the stone tiles next to her. There were tiny spats of red liquid on them. Either someone had spilled some very good burgundy, or that was blood.

Fiora quickly unsheathed her weapon and got into a defensive stance. Something was wrong. Something that had scared the living daylights out of whoever had driven those horse carts, making them disappear to… where?  
'It's open,' Ahri said, pointing to the front door. Slowly, she moved to the side and reached out with her tail, grabbing the door ring. Fiora positioned herself on the other side of the door. With a small nod of her head, she signalled for Ahri to open it. A single pull of her tail and the wood swung open, creaking eerily. It was very dark inside.  
'We need to do something about that,' the Grand Duelist mumbled. 'If there's enemies in there, I won't be able to take them out if I can't see.'  
'Allow me,' Ahri sounded from behind the now open door. Fiora saw her hand appear, accompanied by a weird, blue flame that soon separated itself from her skin and leapt down to the ground. She'd used her strange foxfire again. Only this time, the fire was an icy blue instead of orange, and looked a lot more eerie.  
Ahri whispered a command and the flame took off, jumping right into the tavern and landing in the middle of the room. Its light cast creepy, dark blue shadows all over the place. But it was better than nothing. At least they would be able to see now.

Fiora carefully stuck her head around the corner and looked inside. Her heart sank. The place was completely trashed. The large, wooden tables that had graced the main area of the tavern had been splintered and cut up and lay in pieces across the floor, together with the chairs. The four large wall drapings, each with the weapons of the important Houses in Demacia, were torn off and ripped apart. Even the bar looked like someone had fired a rain of metal bullets at it. Other than that, the place seemed abandoned. Not a single soul was in sight.

'Where'd the humans go?' Ahri asked, stepping inside before Fiora could stop her. Immediately, something moved from the only corner that Fiora hadn't been able to check yet. She heard someone scuffling around, and suddenly something golden came flying right at Ahri's head.  
Fiora leapt forward, slashing her sword hard in front of the woman. The golden object got hit and was sent flying to the ground, slamming into the remains of something that looked like a piano. Fiora raised her weapon to the enemy, ready to strike-

At a little boy.

Fiora blinked. She quickly glanced to the thing that she'd struck down. It was a golden drinking cup. Another cup was placed firmly into the boy's hand, which was shaking together with the rest of his body.  
'D-don't come any closer!' he squealed. 'I'll hit you! I will!'

Astounded, Fiora lowered her weapon and put it back in its sheath. She had no clue about what was going on anymore. Was he a survivor from what had happened here? And what on Valoran hád happened, anyway? She looked at his face. Freckles, brown hair, and two large, grey eyes that were obviously scared to death.

'It's all right,' Fiora said softly, trying to calm him down. 'We're not going to hurt you. My name is Fiora of house Laurent. I live in Demacia.'

The words "Laurent" and "Demacia" seemed to trigger some recognition with the boy. He lowered his cup as well, but crawled away from the two women to cover a hole in the piano wreckage.  
'Do you remember what your name is?' Fiora asked, trying to keep her voice as non-threatening as possible. She wasn't used to talking this way. But it did the trick; the boy frowned and thought for a while, before opening his mouth.  
'Sean. I l-live here.'  
'What happened here, Sean?'

He violently shook his head, crawling away from Fiora even more. His large, deer-like eyes shot back and forth between her and the wreckage that had been the tavern. Fiora noticed that he was still covering the hole. Deliberately, even, as if he was trying to shield something. Or someone.  
'Is there someone else with you there?' Fiora asked. 'Are they hurt? Maybe we can help, Sean.'  
For a moment, he seemed to be debating with himself. Then Sean slid away from the hole, allowing Fiora and Ahri to look inside.  
'My sister.'

It wasn't good. The little girl had apparently been underneath the piano when it was smashed to pieces, and the wood had crashed down right on top of her. From the flame's light, Fiora could see her tiny frame half covered by the wing. If it had slammed into her like that, there was no way that she would come out unharmed. Fiora quickly walked over to the piano and kneeled down. It got even worse as Fiora further examined the girl. A small pool of blood had gathered underneath her, spreading slowly across the cracks in the floor tiles. Fiora placed a single finger on the vein in the girl's neck, checking her pulse. She was still alive. But her condition was worsening fast.

'Can you help her?' Sean asked, his eyes now fully trained on Fiora. It pained her to see that, in his eyes, she'd turned from being an enemy to being his only hope. Especially because there was so little she could do to help a person that was this far gone. But she could try.  
'Sean, do you know the little settlement next to the river, not far from here?' Fiora asked, taking control. 'Do you have a way of contacting them quickly?'  
'We have a dove upstairs,' Sean nodded. His face was pale.  
'Good. Ahri, go get it.'  
'Really? You're sending the fox to go get the bird?' Ahri asked, which earned her a scowl from Fiora.  
'Fine. Sean, please go get that dove. And some paper and a quill, as well. We're going to write them to send their medic over immediately.'

He nodded and jumped up, swaying a little on his feet. Who knew how long he had been crouching near the wall. As soon as he'd regained balance, he took off, flying up the wooden stairs on the other side of the room.  
'Ahri,' Fiora called her companion. 'Help me lift this wing off of her. We can't do anything while she's covered by it.'  
'She is going to die,' the nine-tailed fox said, looking down on the girl's face. 'Her spine is broken. The bones have punctured her organs.'  
'I know. Just help me.'  
'There is no treatment to heal her in time.'  
'I _know_,' Fiora growled. She wrapped her fingers around one edge of the piano wing and got ready to pull. 'Now help me lift this, fox!'  
'Why? Nothing we do will help her now. That girl is as good as dead. Then why waste energy on trying to help her? It is dangerous here. We should leave.'

Her words shocked Fiora. She let go of the wing and glanced up at Ahri, who was looking back with a confused expression on her face.

'What are you talking about? We can't just leave her here like this. It's a child. Even if she doesn't make it, we need to do what we can.'  
'Why?' Ahri asked again. 'I don't understand.'

Fiora opened her mouth to answer the fox, but then closed it again. She didn't know how to explain herself. And the look on Ahri's face didn't help much, either. She really didn't understand Fiora. It was not that she didn't care if the girl lived or died. But the idea of helping her even though it was certain that she wouldn't make it, just for the sake of helping, seemed incomprehensible to her. Fiora had never met another person who didn't understand this… and once again was remembered that Ahri wasn't fully human.

'I'll explain it later,' she said eventually. 'Just help me lift this thing now, before the boy comes back downstairs.'  
Ahri stood silently for a while, before finally joining Fiora next to the piano wing. She wrapped her hands around the edge as well, and together they slowly lifted the thing from the ground. The wing was heavier than Fiora had thought it would be. It took both of the women to manage lifting the thing. It made Fiora fear for the girl lying underneath even more.

After throwing the wing on top of the rest of the wreckage, Fiora returned to Sean's sister. She was lying on her side, with her legs in a weird twitch where they weren't supposed to be able to bend. Fiora wanted to turn her around and look for puncture wounds, but she was afraid that moving the girl's body would only make things worse. And so she did the only things that she could do. She removed the other bits of wood that were on top of her and covered her with her cloak.

'I've got it!' Sean shouted, running back downstairs with a little grey dove on his arm, and a piece of parchment clasped in his hands. 'There's a quill and ink in the desk over there, miss Laurent.'  
He pointed to a wooden cabinet near where Ahri was standing. She reached over and opened it, pulling out the quill from the top drawer.  
'Can you write, Ahri?' Fiora asked.  
'Yes.'  
'Then write the letter for me. Tell the medic to come over right away, together with a guard and some men to clean up this mess. Whoever tore this place apart might not be far away.'

She looked bored, but did as Fiora told her and fetched the piece of parchment from the boy's clutches. Moving back to the cabinet, Ahri began to write.  
'How is she?' Sean asked Fiora. The woman frowned, unsure of how much to tell him.  
'Not good. The piano wing broke her spine when it fell on top of her. There's some internal damage, as well. I want to find out where she's bleeding from, but if I turn her around like this, I might make things worse.'

If Sean could have turned any paler, he did. The dove shook on top of his thin arm.

'B-but… there's a chance she'll still make it, right?' he said, pleading with the duellist. 'She'll be fine as long as the medic comes here, right?'  
'If she's strong,' Fiora said, avoiding a straight-out answer. 'If she's lucky… and if the medic can come here fast enough. Ahri, are you done yet?'  
'Yes,' Ahri said, walking over to the corner where they were at. As she handed the paper to Sean, her eyes lingered hungrily on the grey dove. The creature noticed her and started squirming on Sean's arm, flapping its wings and trying to get away from the nine-tailed fox. Sean had to struggle to place the paper inside the tube on its paw.

'Go send it off,' Fiora said, pointing towards the front door. Sean nodded and spun around, dashing outside. From behind the wooden doors, she could hear the dove flapping its wings and taking off. It wasn't far to the river settlement. Not for a bird, at least.

'You lied to the boy,' Ahri said, brushing one of her tails with her pale, long fingers. 'You know that any help will come too late.'  
'I know,' Fiora answered. She carefully removed the girl's hair from her face. Then she stood up, staring Ahri straight into the eyes.  
'But there's still a chance that she'll make it, anyway. I don't want to take away the boy's hope as long as there is still a chance that she'll live.'  
That, too, seemed to be a completely alien thought to Ahri. She frowned. Fiora could see her mind trying to think the way that Fiora did. But it failed, and Ahri merely shrugged.  
'If you say so. What else do you want us to do?'  
'Guard her, and Sean,' Fiora answered. 'Until the medic comes here. That's all we can do.'

* * *

_Thank you for everyone who's checked out the story so far. I appreciate it. ^^ Please leave a comment if you liked it, or have some advice, or if there's things about the writing that you don't like. H  
ave fun out there! =D_


	6. Chapter 3 - part two

**Act 3 – part two**

* * *

The medic came too late.

Fiora was watching Ahri as it happened. The woman suddenly perked up, turning her gaze from the window to where Fiora was. In her eyes was a cold, knowing expression that gave Fiora the chills.  
Fiora knew what she wanted to say instantly. She broke eye contact and instead gazed at the girl next to her. Her eyes had opened. They were a pale blue, like clear water that had turned to crystallized ice. But they were glassy and unfocused, and when Fiora moved, there was no reaction at all.

The girl was dead.

With a sigh, the Grand Duelist placed her fingers over the girl's eyelids and pulled them shut. Her hand grabbed the cloak that she had covered her with before and pulled it over her head, neatly tucking it in at the sides. Fiora had done that for fallen comrades many times before. But never before for such a young child.  
'They're here!' Sean suddenly called out, yanking the front door open. His arms were flailing around frantically, and Fiora could see him pointing to the road outside.  
'They're here! The men from the settlement! And the medic! The medic is… with them… too…'  
His running footsteps slowed down and then stopped completely. With a confused look on his face, he gazed down upon his little sister.  
'Why… why'd you cover her face like that?'  
'Sean, go meet with that medic,' Fiora commanded, but the boy violently shook his head.  
'No. What's going on? Why is she covered like that?'  
'Just go outside for now, and we'll-'  
'I want to know-'  
'Your sister is dead,' Ahri interrupted, staring at him with cold eyes and a voice that was just as icy. Fiora could see all of the colour disappearing from Sean's face, as his eyes widened in horror. He stumbled backwards; Fiora saw it coming and quickly caught him just as he fell over.  
'What… what do you mean?' Sean muttered. 'She's… gone? But- but you would save her…-'  
'That girl could not be saved,' the nine-tailed fox replied coolly. 'She was beyond saving from the beginning, boy. You should have realized that.'

Sean's mouth opened and closed again. He seemed to be unable to make words come out. Silently, he watched the foreign-looking woman. He seemed to be pleading with her to take her words back. And when Ahri didn't, Fiora could see something breaking in his eyes.

'Get… out,' he muttered, so softly that Fiora had to bend over to hear what he was saying. She gently placed an arm around the boy, to comfort him.  
'Sean, we-'  
Suddenly enraged, Sean jumped up and slapped her arm away from him. His hands were clutched into fists, and with eyes that were turning really dark really fast, he shouted:  
'Get out, get out, _get óút! Get out of our house! I hate you both! Get óút!_'  
'As you wish, human,' Ahri said, turning around immediately. She coursed straight for the front door and disappeared from sight within moments. Fiora quickly got up as well and followed her companion, leaving a raging Sean behind on his own. As soon as the two stepped foot outside, Fiora could hear more things inside being smashed to pieces. A glass window was shattered. Sean had completely lost it.

Outside, a small group of people had gathered. All of them were on horsebacks. Most of the newcomers were wearing leather armour, except for one rider, who was dressed in a cloth robe. That had to be the settlement's healer. The dark cloak that hid his face wasn't large enough to cover the delicate horn that seemed to decorate the person's head. The Grand Duelist felt a strange sense of déja vu when looking upon that sight.  
'Miss Laurent?' one of the guards said, his voice directed at Fiora. 'Miss Laurent from Demacia, isn't it?'  
'That's right,' Fiora replied to the guard who had recognized her. 'Thank you for coming here on such short notice.'  
'Of course.' The male guard saluted, and gestured for the others to do the same. They quickly dismounted their horses, tying them up to the pole next to the tavern's entrance. The man who had greeted her once again opened his mouth to speak.  
'My name is August. I'm the leader of the settlement. And this is-'  
Before he could say any more, the robed person cut him off.  
'It has been a long time, Fiora.'

The Grand Duelist frowned when she heard that voice. It sounded familiar, though she couldn't quite recall from where. Then the robed person took off her hood and her confusion was instantly lifted. Bright, golden eyes stared straight into hers in between a waterfall of silvery hair, tied together by multiple leather strips. Her oddly coloured skin and the tattoos on her arms and legs left no room for doubt.

'Soraka,' Fiora nodded, her face slightly confused. 'It really has been a while. But… what are you doing with these men? You're not from the settlement.'  
The starchild shrugged, placing a single hand on Fiora's arm.  
'Their healer became ill. I'm usually the one that people go to for help when that happens.'  
'Who is that?' Ahri chimed in, her white tails brushing across Fiora's back. It was only then that the starchild seemed to notice Ahri. Soraka eyed her up and down suspiciously, a slight frown forming on her face. The nine-tailed fox winked at her, not in the least bit bothered.  
'What happened here?' Soraka asked eventually, ignoring the fox and shifting her gaze to the ravage.  
'I'm not sure,' Fiora responded. 'Someone has destroyed the inside of this tavern. So far, the boy living here seems to be the only one who has survived. He's in there, with his sister.'  
'Excuse me,' Soraka said, immediately walking past the duelist. August nodded at the men behind him, after which half of them accompanied her inside. Fiora could hear them speaking to Sean, frantically trying to calm him down.

'Whoever did this appears to have left, but I haven't been able to do a full sweep of the place,' Fiora continued, focusing on August.  
'What on Valoran would anyone want with a place like this?' August spoke. 'There's nothing of value here. The only people that ever stay in this building are the mages of the northern tower… and the odd traveller, like you two.'  
'Maybe that's who they were after in the first place. Do you know of anyone else that has travelled past here recently?' Fiora asked the men. 'Perhaps the person who did this is after them.'

August frowned, looking back at his underlings.

'Who was in charge of guarding the road? Have you seen anyone out of place recently?'

They shook their heads. Fiora frowned and was just about to turn away from them, when the man standing at the very back of the group opened his mouth.  
'There was this one guy…'  
'What?' August and Fiora said at the same time. The young guard seemed nervous under their combined attention, fidgeting with the sleeves of his shirt as if he had done something wrong.  
'He looked like a mage, but… also not a mage. There's weird figures going back and forth between the tower all the time, though, so I didn't pay him any attention.'  
At that moment, Soraka came back outside. She shook her head. There was nothing that she could do. Instead she joined their conversation, looking at the young guard.  
'Describe him,' Fiora commanded.  
'yes, m'am. He was on foot, and carrying something huge on his back. I think he was in his fifties. Oh, and he was quite far away, so I'm not sure if I saw this right, but… the guy had purple skin.'  
Ahri raised her eyebrows slightly, curiosity appearing on her face for the first time. Soraka frowned. The boy looked at her for a split second before turning bright red and stuttered:  
'N-not that there's anything wrong with- I didn't mean it like-'  
'Ryze,' Fiora whispered.  
'Who?'  
'In which direction was he going?' Fiora asked, ignoring Ahri's question. The young guard pointed to the north, at the path towards the tower.  
'That way, m'am.'

Fiora had never personally met him before, but even she had heard stories of the magical being called Ryze. Starting out as a mere mage, the man had delved into the dark corners of the magical arts until he had obtained powers and secrets that no one else had or knew about. Ryze was a walking arcane wonder, and although Demacia considered him an ally, Fiora had heard enough stories to know that they were scared of the knowledge that he possessed. Knowledge which, in the wrong hands, could bring disaster over all of Valoran.

If it was in search of Ryze, destroying an entire inn didn't seem all that impossible.

And that meant that he was in serious danger.

'We're going to borrow two of your horses, August,´ Fiora spoke, abruptly snapping herself out of her thoughts.  
´I- but-'  
'Now, please.'  
The man quickly nodded, submitting to her authority. He walked over to the pole where the horses were tied to, untying two pairs of reigns. With obvious reluctance, he handed over the two horses to Fiora.  
'We'll need them back, miss Laurent.'  
'Of course. And you shall, as soon as we've taken care of something important. You have my word.'  
Unable to say anything else, he simply nodded again. Fiora took a few steps towards Ahri, holding out one pair of reigns.  
'Come on. We're leaving, Ahri.'  
'Now you're all right with leaving the kid on his own?' she asked, curiously.  
'He's in the care of these men now. And we're in a hurry.'

She held the horse's reigns out for her again, waiting for Ahri to grab them. But the nine-tailed fox just stared at Fiora, not moving a muscle. It was almost as if she was mocking her.

'Ahri. The horse,' Fiora finally said, in an impatient tone.  
'No, thank you. I am not climbing on top of that grasshopper.'  
'Why not?'

She kept staring at Fiora, mouth shut. Then her eyes flickered back and forth between her and the horse, and Fiora could see that she was uncomfortable for some reason.

'Don't tell me… you can't ride?'

Bull's eye. Ahri didn't answer once again, but by now Fiora had gotten good enough at reading her facial expressions to know when she was right. For a second, she felt torn between laughing at her companion and feeling annoyed because she was being a liability. She then did neither, handing one of the horses back to August.  
'You can have this one. Ahri, come here. You'll ride with me.'

A large, sly smile appeared on the woman's face as she approached Fiora. Ahri's tails seemed to move around faster than normal and for a second, she looked just like she had done when she'd taken Fiora's weapon away. Fiora, wanting to avoid a similar situation, quickly mounted the horse and held her hand out for Ahri to grab onto.  
'Just hold on to me and try not to fall off. You can manage that, can't you?'  
'Of course,' Ahri replied, still smiling. She took hold of Fiora's hand and pulled herself up. The next moment, she was sitting right behind Fiora. Just as the Grand Duelist wanted to take off, Soraka approached her horse. She gestured for Fiora to bend over to her, before softly starting to whisper in her ear.  
'That creature you're with- you can't trust it, Fiora.'  
'I know. She's a bit unpredictable.'  
'No. That's not what I mean,' the starchild said, her frown deepening. 'Don't let her get close to you the way she is now. If you let down your guard… she'll drain your life away.'  
'What are you talking about?'  
The duellist could feel Ahri's arms softly sliding around her waist, her long fingers tickling Fiora's skin. All of the hairs on her arms stood up straight at the sensation. Ahri noticed Fiora's discomfort, but instead of pulling away, the woman moved even closer until she was practically breathing down Fiora's neck.  
'Aren't you going to move?' she whispered, when Fiora didn't give the horse any commands. Fiora quickly shook her head to clear her mind and buried her heels in the horse's belly, making it dash forward. Pebbles and stones got flung off the road as the beast galloped away from the tavern.

The journey ahead was a dull one. Following the road north, all Fiora had to do was keep the horse on track and look around for danger. Noxus tended to send spies on their way to Demacia through here. But the wide, grassy hills between them and the tower were, apart from herds of sheep, completely desolate. There were no enemies to be cautious for. And partly because of that, Fiora couldn't stop noticing the soft arms that were wrapped around her.

The Grand Duelist had allowed people to ride with her before. Soldiers that had lost their horse in a battle, or people of importance who had to be guided somewhere quickly. Situations like that. But while in those cases she hadn't let the people behind her bother her at all, this time Fiora couldn't block Ahri's presence out of her mind. The woman had moved even closer against her than before. Her soft, pale arms were locked around Fiora's waist and she could feel Ahri's chest against her back as the fox held onto her tightly. It was... not unpleasant. If it had been someone less likely to suddenly try to kill her, Fiora might even have liked it.  
But at the very moment that she admitted that to herself, Soraka's warning reappeared in her mind. The starchild was not one to say something like that lightly. It made her wonder about the woman sitting behind her all the more.

'Ahri, can I ask you a question?' Fiora asked, aiming her gaze back on the road. Behind her, she could feel Ahri move her head towards her shoulder.  
'Only if I get a question in return, little dancer.'  
Fiora smiled. She liked her sly, witty answers.  
'Very well. But I'll go first, fox.'  
'As you wish.'  
'Back in Demacia... how did you end up in that jail cell?'

Ahri must not have expected that answer, because she allowed a silence to fall. For a few seconds, nothing could be heard but the horse's hooves on the road and Fiora had already started thinking that she would not get an answer at all, when the fox opened her mouth.  
'Murder. That is what you humans call it, yes?'  
'What did you do?' Fiora asked. The announcement should have made her more wary about her riding companion, but for some reason, she had only become more curious.  
'It takes some explaining, first. Do you still want to know?'  
'Yes,' Fiora answered.  
'Very well, then. I have not always been like this, as you might have already guessed. I changed from an actual fox, many years ago. Even now, it takes a lot of spirit essence for me to be able to retain this form. I used to take it from the woods and other animals as a fox, but now that I'm like this, that isn't enough anymore.'  
'How did you turn into a human?' Fiora asked, frowning slightly. A bird flew up from the hills and scared the horse; Fiora could feel Ahri's arms tightening around her.  
'I'm... not sure. It was a really long time ago. Back then... I lived in the woods, on the edge of Ionia. I remember being driven from the plains by hundreds of men in red and golden armour.'  
'An army?'  
'Yes. They fought a bloody battle on those plains, one that lasted an entire day and all throughout the night. And then... it became silent. The following morning I snuck back in, past the bodies and broken weapons. I remember everyone already being dead... except for one man. He was wearing robes and a cloak over his armour... and was failing to heal himself when I found him.'  
'A mage?' Fiora guessed. She could feel Ahri shaking her head behind her.  
'No. He was more than a mage... I'd seen him lead the battle from where I was hiding. But at the end of the night, both the enemy and his own army were destroyed and his healing magic kept failing... I remember being drawn to the spirit essence inside of him. And the next thing I knew, that person was dead and I was lying on the ground in a human body. With his essence inside of me.'  
'You leeched away his life force,' Fiora whispered, her eyes a fraction bigger than normal. She was suddenly very grateful that Ahri couldn't see the expression on her face.  
'So that's what you did to the people you've killed? You take away their life energy?'  
Fiora went silent for a second, after which another realization came to her.  
'Those men, outside of your cell door! You did the same to them, didn't you? And then made it look to us like they were still alive, just like how you've changed my sword's appearance back then?'  
'That's right,' Ahri said, visibly pleased that Fiora had figured it out. 'Does this answer all of your questions, little dancer?'  
'No. How?' Fiora asked, shaking her head. She carefully turned her upper body around and faced Ahri, who was looking up at her with a familiar glimmer in her eyes.  
'What?'  
'How do you steal away their life?'

Ahri's smile widened, and suddenly Fiora could feel the horse's reigns being yanked out of her hands. Ahri had silently moved her tails behind her, and before Fiora could react, they were already wrapped around her neck and chest and threw her out of the saddle. With a painful thud, she landed flat on the ground. The horse jumped out of fright from the noise and took off, but before Fiora could even begin on chasing it down, Ahri was already on top of her.

'Are you sure you want to know?' the fox whispered, in a husky voice. Her legs were each on one side of Fiora's body and her hands were placed on her shoulders, pinning her down as Fiora had pinned Ahri to the ground not long ago. Ahri's striking, yellow eyes pierced straight into Fiora's and the duelist could hear her silently daring to break away. And despite the position that she was in, Fiora couldn't resist a challenge like that.  
'Try me,' Fiora answered, in a voice that was just as husky as Ahri's. The fox' smile widened, and for the first time Fiora could see the tiny, sharp-looking fangs in the corners of her mouth. Slowly, Ahri lowered her head until it was inches away from the woman that she was holding down. Her long, pale fingers slowly traced the outlines of Fiora's armour.  
'It's easy,' Ahri whispered into Fiora's ear. The sensation sent chills down her neck and suddenly she found herself wondering what it would be like to kiss a woman with fangs for teeth. She tried to get rid of the thought, but before she could do so, Ahri had already started to speak again.  
'All I need to do,' she whispered, 'is open you up…'

The tingling in her body increased tenfold as she felt Ahri's lips brush past the skin on her neck. The sensation left Fiora breathless. She moved her own hands to Ahri's waist, digging into the soft flesh. Ahri chuckled, clearly pleased with her reaction, and finally opened her mouth.

_'If you let down your guard… she'll drain your life away.'_

Fiora moved as quickly as she could. With a single swoop, she'd grabbed hold of Ahri's right leg and thrown her to the side at the same time. Ahri wasn't prepared for that and let out a surprised yelp as she hit the ground next to Fiora, not being able to roll off completely because her legs were stuck. It was what Fiora had aimed for. She quickly rolled over as well and ended up on top of Ahri, effectively switching the positions that they'd been in.

'Well, that usually doesn't happen,' Ahri said, smiling up at the duellist.  
'I don't like being on bottom,' Fiora growled back, but she couldn't keep her own face from smiling, as well.  
'As you wish, human. I was just giving a demonstration.'  
She frowned for a second, after which her devilish grin returned.  
'Men are easier, anyway.'

Fiora was just about to respond, when the silence around her was ripped apart by a huge explosion. The ground shook underneath the two women, as if there was about to be an earthquake, and when Fiora hastily looked over her shoulder, she could see something that looked like lightning shoot into the sky from between the trees in the far distance. The noise was ear-shattering.  
'What is happening?!' Ahri yelled from under Fiora, but all the duellist could do was shake her head.  
'I don't know!'

Another beam of energy rolled out from between the treetops, paired with a second streak of what Fiora now realized was thunder. The horse, that had been grazing near them before, completely panicked and took off. Fiora called out to it, but another tremor slammed her straight back into Ahri. The nine-tailed fox grabbed hold of Fiora again, but this time there was nothing playful about it. She could feel her companion holding on for dear life as another tremor ran through the earth, as if she was afraid that the ground would split open and swallow them whole. Fiora dug her fingers into the grass beneath her, trying her hardest to remain still.

And just as suddenly as it had come, the energy beams and tremors stopped. Fiora could see a large flock of birds flying away from the trees as fast as they could, but other than that, there was complete silence. Whatever had happened, it was over as soon as it had begun. But it had left its mark. The treetops were scorched, and Fiora could see tiny trails of smoke trailing upwards. If no one checked that place out, they could be looking at another forest fire within minutes.

'Come on,' Fiora finally said, picking herself back up from the ground. She held out her hand for Ahri to grab onto.  
'You want to go in there?' Ahri asked, quickly catching on. 'Why?'  
'To put out the fire, if there is any,' Fiora responded shortly. 'I don't feel like being chased by another forest fire, later. Once a week is enough for me.'

But that wasn't the only reason. Peaceful as the hills had seemed a few minutes earlier, Fiora hadn't forgotten that they were inches away from the Noxian border. The chance that two hostile champions had met outside of the League was very high. The fight, or whatever it was, had been very powerful, too. If there were Noxian champions sneaking around so close to the border, then Demacia had to know. It was Fiora's duty to investigate this.

Slowly, Ahri took hold of her companion's outstretched hand and pulled herself up. She was frowning; a rare expression on her face.  
'You can wait here, if you want,' Fiora said, trying to comfort her. But Ahri shook her head.  
'No. I'm coming with you.'

Fiora felt that disagreeing would get her nowhere. So she nodded, turned around and looked for the horse. It was still galloping away from them, and in the opposite direction from the forest. Catching the beast was going to take a long time.  
'We'll get him back later,' Fiora decided. 'For now, it'll be faster to walk over there.'

Ahri seemed pleased that she wouldn't have to mount the horse again. Silently, she followed Fiora as she marched across the small distance to the woods. The grass underneath their feet creaked eerily, and Fiora found herself wondering why. The answer came to her soon. Their footsteps were the only sound that was being made in the entire area. The birds had flown off and although it was already late in the afternoon, no crickets could be heard anywhere. They must all have been scared off by the energy bolts and tremors. Even the air felt thick and heavy- Fiora felt herself tense up more by the second. Her instincts told her that something bad was about to happen.

It didn't take the two long to reach the edge of the woods. The fight, or whatever it was, had taken place right behind the tree border. Fiora could see scorched bark and burnt branches already, although there did not seem to be any fires. As she inspected the first few trees, Ahri knelt down and placed a pale hand on the ground.  
'Tracks,' she muttered, loud enough to draw Fiora's attention. The duellist looked down as well. Ahri was right; a pair of footsteps ran deeper into the woods. They were still fresh, and the prints were pressed deep into the earth.  
'He was running,' Fiora concluded, watching as Ahri stood back up.  
'How do you know if it's a man?' the fox asked, curiously. As a response, Fiora pointed at the footprints.  
'Have you ever seen a woman with feet like that?'

Her comment was rewarded with a short chuckle from Ahri. They decided to follow the tracks, slowly walking around trees and shrubs along the way. The owner of those footprints had been trying hard to shake… something… off its trail. Fiora noticed the environment becoming more scorched and burnt the further they walked, and cautiously placed her hand over the handle of her weapon. Suddenly, Ahri stopped walking.

'What is it?' Fiora asked. She'd been paying more attention to the area around her than to the ground, which Ahri was once again pointing at.  
'Look.'  
Another pair of footsteps had joined the first one, seemingly out of nowhere. These were much larger, and although the steps were closer to each other, the prints were buried even deeper into the ground as the first one. Either the second person was really heavy, or he was wearing full body-armour…

_Full body-armour._

'It can't be,' Fiora mumbled, as she moved closer to the footprints. Her mind was taken back to that night in the woods, just before the forest fire. Could it be? Was this… the same person as the one from back then?

Quickly, she pulled her sword out of its sheath, at the same time that Ahri tensed up, as well. She'd picked up on Fiora's mood instantly. The two continued their path in complete silence, glancing left and right at every turn in the road. The first set of footsteps seemed to start getting less far apart. The man had become tired… and his pursuer had known it. As the first man's steps grew weaker, his increased in speed and depth.  
And then… both sets of footprints vanished.  
'Where'd they go?' Fiora thought out loud, scanning the ground around her. She then lifted her head, and realized where they were. A tiny clearing in the forest, which had been scorched into dust and black ash completely. In the middle of the clearing, a small crater could be seen. This had to be the spot from which the lightning and tremors had come. The only tree that grew there had been torn off its roots, and as Fiora inspected the thing a bit closer, she felt a chill run down her spine. Familiar silver-coloured shards were jammed into the scorched bark, ripping the tree apart. Fiora had seen those shards before. They were exactly the same as the ones at the tavern. And… that meant…

'Fiora?'

For the third time, Ahri's voice called Fiora out of her thoughts. But this time, she sounded different. Startled, and not in a good way. The Grand Duelist rapidly turned around, her weapon ready to strike, and gazed at the spot that Ahri was facing towards. The very bottom of the crater. Fiora cautiously moved away from the tree and towards the edge of the hole in the ground, casting a quick glance down as well.

In the middle of the crater, a single man lay. He was facing downwards and did not seem to be moving. The man was bald, but even more striking were the purple haze of his skin and the many tattoos drawn on his arms and over his entire upper body. A small pool of blood had gathered underneath him. Fiora instantly realized that this was Ryze, the mage that she had heard so much about.

And from the looks of it, he´d been fatally wounded.

Fiora leapt from the edge of the crater and dropped inside, hitting the ground right next to Ryze's body. Putting her sword back in its sheath, she knelt down next to him and checked his pulse. He was still alive… she could see his chest slowly going up and down, but just barely.  
'Ryze,' she whispered, gently grasping the man's hand. 'Are you still awake? Can you hear me?'  
A small grunt rose from the man as he gave a single squeeze into Fiora's fingers. But that seemed to be the only thing that he could do. The pool of blood was spreading quickly, and suddenly Fiora was in a similar situation as back in the tavern. With no more than basic medical supplies, there was nothing she could do for Ryze.  
'Can you talk?' Fiora asked. She slowly traced the man's back and neck with her fingers, checking for any broken bones.  
'…not…' Ryze whispered, so softly that Fiora could barely hear him. She moved her head closer to the man, trying to make out what he was saying. Then, without warning, he suddenly jolted his arm forward and grabbed onto the front of Fiora's armour, hoisting himself up.

It was a terrible sight. Dozens of the silver shards had buried themselves in his chest and shoulders, and one was embedded just below his jawline. Red blood was dripping in reams down his body and if Fiora hadn't checked Ryze's pulse just a second ago, she would have believed him to been a walking corpse. His eyes were white and cloudy, as if he was partially blind, and the irises shot back and forth frantically while the dying man clutched unto Fiora's chest.  
'Don't… let him…' Ryze gasped, drawing blood all over her golden armour plate. Fiora was torn between feeling disgusted or concerned, and remained silent. From the corner of her eye, she could see Ahri frowning and jumping into the crater, as well.  
'Don't let him what?' she asked, clearly a lot less composed around the dying mage. Fiora's face darkened, as well. Something, besides the countless wounds, was wrong with Ryze. It took her several seconds before she realized what It was. The scroll on his back, what he'd apparently been carrying when the young guard spotted him, was nowhere to be found. Just the carrying strap was there, lying uselessly on his back.  
'Don't let him… take it,' Ryze coughed, his grip on Fiora's armour tightening as his legs gave way from under him. Fiora could see his eyes getting hazier by the second. He had to be on the verge of losing his life… what could be so important that he would dedicate his dying wish to?

With another grunt, Ryze lifted his other hand and reached into his pocket, taking out something small and metallic. He looked up at Fiora, pleading with her to take it. But before she could move, Ryze's grip on her armour broke. He fell down, falling face-first into the pool of blood with a sickening _thud_. Fiora waited, but the man did not get up again.

He was dead.

Slowly, Ahri walked up to the corpse and knelt down next to it. She pried his fist open with her long nails and took whatever it was he'd been trying to give to them. Tiny and silver, it glimmered in the setting sun's rays.  
'It's a key,' Ahri said.  
'For what?'  
'How should I know, little dancer?' she reacted, with a voice as calm as always. Fiora frowned and held out her hand, beckoning for Ahri to hand it over. She did, after which Fiora could examine the key more closely. It was not a standard key, like the ones made for front doors or small gateways. No, this key was custom made, and so complicated that it probably could not be copied even if you tried. A single, glowing symbol was engraved into the handle. Fiora brought the key closer to her face, and suddenly she recognised the symbol. Of course. It was the same symbol as was engraved on the large front doors of the tower. A rune symbol- something used to keep intruders out, and would only react to the same symbol.

_Don't let him take it_. Fiora still had no idea what Ryze had meant, but now, she did know _where it was_. He had hidden it in the arcane tower; either in the dungeons below or one of the guarded rooms upstairs. Fiora had never been inside of the tower before, but the many stories about it that she'd heard were enough to give her an overall picture of what the place was like. And if whatever Ryze had hidden in there was important enough to kill him over… it would probably mean disaster if it fell into the wrong hands.

That meant that Fiora had to get to it before Ryze's killer did.

* * *

It did not take long to bury Ryze's remains. The earth had been loosened by the fight that had taken place, and they could cover up his body with dirt in a matter of minutes. Afterwards, Fiora took the key out of her pocket once again and frowned.  
'I know that look,' Ahri said, smiling at her. 'You're going after it, aren't you?'  
Fiora nodded.  
'I have to.'  
'Because it's your duty?'  
'Exactly,' Fiora smiled back. 'You're learning fast, little fox. Feel like tagging along?'  
'I wouldn't miss it for the world,' Ahri grinned. She let her tail brush past Fiora's neck, and for the first time Fiora didn't mind the touch at all. She was starting to like the fox.  
'Let's go, Ahri.'

_-End of act 3-_


	7. Chapter 4 - part one

**Act 4 – The Tower**

With rapidly galloping hooves, the horse made its way across the sandy path. It was going fast, much faster than most horses steered in this direction. Lumps of sand and grass were flung in the air by its hooves, and its two riders were bent over its long neck to hinder the beast as little as possible. On the horizon, the sun was about to disappear behind the hills.

"We're almost there," Fiora yelled over her shoulder, trying to overcome the howling of the wind around her. Within minutes, the previously nice weather had turned sour as the sky filled itself with dark clouds. It would turn dark soon, and Fiora did not want to be on this road when it did. She dug her heels into the horse's belly, making it speed up even more.  
"Will they just let us in once we reach them?" Ahri shouted back from behind Fiora. "Weren't they supposed to imprison me there?"  
"We'll work that out later," Fiora yelled, waving the problem aside. "This is more important."

She could feel the small, silver key inside of her pocket. Fiora's face looked calm, but it was a forced expression. The encounter with Ryze had caused all kind of alarm bells to start ringing in her mind. Not just because of what had happened. The old mage had had pursuers for as long as she could remember. From the first moment that Fiora had heard of him, there'd been people seeking him out for the secrets he possessed. None of them had been able to best him, however… until now. Fiora thought back to that night, just before the forest fire. The moment of panic when she'd pierced her attacker's neck, when there had been no reaction whatsoever. How had he been able to do that- just who was he? And what was he after that was worth killing a Champion and wrecking an entire tavern for?

Fiora felt a short tug at her shirt. Ahri had been sitting behind her, arms wrapped around her waist to keep the fox from falling off. She had moved her head closer to Fiora's, apparently trying to get her attention.  
"What is it, Ahri?" Fiora asked.  
"You still owe me a question," Ahri responded. Because she was sitting right behind Fiora, the duellist could not see if she was smiling or not.  
"Do we have to do that nów?" Fiora asked, slightly annoyed. "We're in a hurry."  
"It's a straight line from here to the tower. I do not think the horse will care much whether we talk or not."  
She had a point. Fiora could think of nothing to say to that, so she simply nodded and waited for Ahri to talk.  
"Little dancer… why are you so angry?"

Fiora blinked.

"What?"

She must have heard wrongly. From everything that Ahri could have come up with, this seemed to make the least sense. But Ahri didn't take back her words. She sat quietly behind Fiora, waiting for the duellist to answer.  
"I'm… not angry at you."  
"I know that," Ahri responded. Her face was just behind Fiora and she could hear her voice very close to her ear. "But I can tell. You're enraged at… something. Even if you don't want to admit it to anyone. I felt it that night when I was in the cage, at the tavern with the boy… and just now with that mage, too. Am I wrong?"

Fiora opened her mouth to respond, but then abruptly closed it again. Ahri's powers of perception were really something. And here she'd thought that she had been hiding it so well.

The truth was, Ahri was right.

"You're better at reading people than I thought."

Fiora was a duelist- one with a reputation of defeating all who challenged her either on the battlefield or in a duel. But now, for the first time, she'd failed. Not only had she let Ryze's killer escape during that short fight in the woods, but if his attack had lasted any longer, Fiora wasn't sure if she'd have won or lost. And because she had failed to kill him, both Ryze and the people in that tavern had lost their lives. That meant that this situation was her fault. Fiora felt directly responsible, and the clear failure of her abilities as a duellist angered her more than she realized.

"I've failed taking him down once," Fiora eventually said, directing her voice to the woman behind her. "I won't fail again."  
"Is that why you are so eager to go on this treasure hunt?" Ahri responded. "Because you know he will be there, as well?"  
"It plays a part," Fiora admitted. "Keeping what Ryze hid safe comes first, though. But something tells me that we're going to run into that thing again soon, either way. Does that make us even with questioning, Ahri?"  
"Not yet," she responded with a grin. "You took advantage of me last time. So you still owe me one more."

Fiora shook her head. She was about to turn her attention towards the road again, when Ahri tugged on her sleeve for a second time.  
"Is that it?" she asked, pointing at a spot on their right. Fiora and Ahri had reached the end of Demacian territory. Although Fiora had not visited all of Valoran yet, the territories were embedded in her mind pretty well. In the far distance, a haze that was slightly darker than the hills that they'd come from could be seen. The howling marsh was directly to the north, and Noxus lied to the east. Beyond there, guarded by a stretch of water, was another landmass. Fiora knew that that was the land of Ionia, where Ahri had apparently come from. And much more to the west, across the Conqueror's Sea and invisible unless you sailed within an hour's distance by boat, were the infamous Shadow Isles.

Just before the official border, at the peak of a hilltop with a steep cliff, stood the Arcane Tower. Fiora knew that it was surrounded by defensive magic spells that instantly killed you if you tried to enter through anywhere else than the main doorway. A small, stone trail had been laid out across the grass, to show where it was safe. Fiora carefully steered her horse onto the trail, casting glances at the massive structure in front of her from the corner of her eyes.

The tower was enormous. Eerie grey and purple hazes decorated the thick walls, making it seem like the structure was moving. It stretched out far into the sky, and Fiora had to bend all the way backwards over her horse in order to see the top. Of course, with Ahri sitting right behind her, that was impossible.

"Quite the watchtower," Ahri said dryly, looking over Fiora's shoulder as they approached the courtyard.  
"Indeed," Fiora responded. She could feel Ahri's arms tighten around her waist.  
"But why did you humans build it all the way out here? If it is meant as a watchtower for Noxus, then why not place it right between Noxus and Demacia?"  
"It's not just for Noxus," Fiora explained. "Although that's what it was originally meant for. This way we can keep an eye on the marsh and the river, and make sure nothing sneaks past our borders through there. It also helps to keep tabs on the north, and if the mages inside the tower use their Rune Magic, they can even check up on the Shadow Isles… but they prefer not to."

Fiora allowed a small silence to fall, mulling her words over.

"Besides, the Institute of War is right between our states. Placing a watchtower that close to it could be interpreted like we're trying to start a war."

By now, the horse had crossed the last bit of distance between them and the arcane tower. Dark and ominous the front door rose up before them, and the aura of magic in the air was almost touchable. Fiora did not like going to places like this. They were unpredictable, and because so much magic was involved, you never knew what was going to happen. Fiora preferred cold steel and hard work over the arcane arts any day, and many warriors agreed with her.

As Fiora manoeuvred the horse across the last few meters before entering the tower's stone courtyard, she saw something that instantly turned the blood in her veins to ice. There, planted right into the grassy soil, was a large footprint. And not just any print- it was the exact same size and shape as the ones that Ahri had pointed out in the forest. That could only mean one thing.

Ryze's killer was already here.

"Ahri, we're going in! Now!" Fiora yelled, quickly swinging her leg over the horse's neck and jumping on the ground. She dashed in a straight line to the door, almost slamming into the wood as she stopped at the last second to pull it open. It was really heavy, and she needed more strength that she thought she would to do that. As soon as the opening was big enough for a person, Fiora stuck her head inside and glanced around.

It was dark inside. Fiora could vaguely recognize a large stairway going up the main hall, after which the tower's tiny windows began. The bottom floor was completely devoid of outside light, though, the only light sources being the lit candles on the walls.

Nothing else was moving.

"Who goes there?!"

Fiora was wrong. Suddenly everything was moving, and the Grand Duelist hastily jumped back as half a dozen of robed guards came running outside. They carried short, nasty-looking purple spears, and before Fiora could blink, the group had cornered the both of them, aiming the weapons straight at their hearts.

"Who are you? Identify yourself!" the guard closest to Fiora demanded. "How did you get past the detective spells, you scoundrels?!"

Fiora's eyes turned dark at the insult. The nine-tailed fox must have seen it, because she quickly opened her mouth.

"They were disabled."  
"Of course they weren't! Only Grand Master Ryze can turn those spells off, and he is away on a strategy meeting in Demacia! Now you either tell us who you are, or we'll run you through with these spears and find out from your dead bodies!"

Fiora reacted faster than any of them could blink. Within three seconds and some very hard kicks of her well-trained legs, all six of them had lost their weapon and were flung against the walls and across the pavement. The man who had threatened her was quickly toppled over as well, hitting his head hard against the dark stone. The Grand Duelist was on top of him right away and slammed the heel of her boot into his stomach.

"How dare you," she growled, violently pressing him against the ground. 'My name is Fiora of House Laurent, part of the Demacian Council. Threatening my life is a very foolish thing to do. I will make you pay for that, you peasant!"

She unsheathed her sword, bringing it up and then flinging it straight down to his neck. The man screamed. Then, just as she was about to behead him, Fiora stopped. She removed her boot off his body and stepped back, placing her weapon back on her hip again.

"Or… I can show you my identity on paper, and we can both forget that this happened."

The guard blinked. If anything, he sure hadn't expected this change to happen. Fiora smiled briefly and held out her hand for him to grab onto. He did, after which she pulled him up. The guard quickly bowed, still a bit dazed from the fall.  
"My lady Laurent. I… apologise for my rudeness."  
"It's all right. You're just doing your job, aren't you?"  
"Y-yes, m'am," the guard nodded.  
"Good. Then I'll forgive you if you let us pass now. We're in a hurry, gentlemen."

His gaze went from Fiora over to Ahri, who had used to opportunity to get off of the horse. Fiora could see the guard's hand twitching, as if he really wanted to grab his spear again.  
"She's with me," Fiora said. The guards did not seem convinced.  
"But… we've received orders to detain the prisoner that would arrive with you, my lady Laurent. Even though she… doesn't look like one."  
"That's a long story," Fiora said, slowly getting annoyed. 'One that I'll be happy to share with you all afterwards. But now I need you to let us pass, fast."

None of them moved. Their eyes were fixed on Ahri, either from rigid training to follow orders or because of how different she looked from the rest of them. They weren't going to let her pass. Fiora was about to reach for her rapier again, when Ahri sighed and shook her head at her.

"I will go with these boys. You go on alone, Fiora."  
"Are you sure?"  
"I can handle a few men, little dancer. Just do not forget to pick me up again later."

For a second, Fiora was in doubt. She had no idea what these men had in store for her. Then again, her mission with Ahri was officially over, so she was no longer responsible for the nine-tailed fox… right? And Ahri seemed to be perfectly comfortable with it.

Eventually, Fiora nodded. Ahri returned the gesture, after which two guards placed themselves next to the fox and grabbed her arms.

"No need to be rough, boys. I'll go wherever you want to have me," Ahri purred, her tails swaying back and forth. She seemed to be enjoying this way too much. The guards didn't respond, although Fiora could see two of them suddenly starting to blush. She shook her head and turned away from the fox, facing the closest guard again.  
'Where are the doors that fit into arcane keys like this?'  
She fetched the tiny key from her pocket, holding it out for the guard to see. He frowned, scratching his head for a few seconds.  
"Doors like that are on the second floor… but- hey, wait!"

Too late. Fiora had already dashed past the front door, and straight into the tower. The torches on the walls flickered as she ran past. It took her eyes a few seconds to get used to the darkness, but the hallway was so large that she didn't even have to slow down. Rows and rows of doors were built in the walls, all exactly the same colour and shape. Thankfully Fiora didn't have to bother with them, and instead ran straight up the enormous stairs that were swirling upwards. The tower really was huge.

As the Grand Duelist reached the second floor, the key in her hand suddenly started to glow. She was startled by it, but immediately realised what it meant and raised the key into the air. Slowly, as she came closer to the end of the hallway, the purple glow became brighter. Compared to the darkness around her, the light was almost blinding. Fiora endured it and kept walking, until she came face-to-face with a dead end.

"Okay, Ryze… now what?" Fiora mumbled, placing her hand on the stone in front of her. As soon as she did that, the purple glow disappeared, together with what little other light there had been from the windows. Everything went pitch black in an instant. Fiora jumped back, grabbing for the sword on her side. In her haste, the key slipped out of her fingers and dropped to the ground. It hit the stone tiles with a clear _ting_. Fiora mumbled a curse and bent down to retrieve it, but before she could do so, the entire wall lit up with the same purple glow as the key. The light crept along the edges and the cracks between the stones, slowly forming the pattern of a doorway. It was blinding her, and Fiora quickly placed her arm in front of her face to keep her sight from disappearing completely. She could hear a rattling sound from somewhere, followed by a soft click that came from directly in front of her. Fiora waited until the light had dimmed a bit before she removed the hand from her eyes.

"Well… look at that."

A new door had appeared. In the keyhole was, already turned, the same key that had fallen on the ground a few seconds ago. Apparently, she had done the right thing. Fiora didn't stop to think about it too much and pressed ahead, placing both hands on the door. She didn't even have to push – as soon as her hands came into contact with the purple glow, the door opened on its own. Instead of swinging aside, the stone lit up and then vanished into thin air, leaving a door-shaped hole in the wall. Cautiously, Fiora stepped through.

It was a large, round room, but that was all Fiora was able to tell. No candles decorated the walls, and the windows were covered with long, heavy drapings. The air inside was stale and dusty, and Fiora had to place her hand over her mouth to keep herself from coughing as she walked over across the floor. With one hand, she grabbed the drapings and pulled. A waterfall of dust rained down on her together with the curtain, plus the pole that it had been hanging from. Fiora quickly jumped out of the way. The dust cloud still reached her nose, however, and she spent the next minute coughing loudly to get all of it out of her lungs. This room really hadn't been lived in for a long time… not even entered at all, probably. With small tears in the corner of her eyes from the coughing fit, Fiora looked around. Rune symbols were carved all over the walls and even across the ceiling. There were a few empty bookshelves lined up, greyed out because of the blanket of dust that had gathered on them. No other furniture was there, save for an old chandelier that was lowered from the ceiling and tied to the wall with a single rope. The chandelier, too, was greyed out from dust.

In fact, everything was like that… except for one thing. In the middle of the room, rested on a small pedestal, was a single, white scroll. It was much larger than normal scrolls, and the complete lack of dust instantly made Fiora realize that this must have been what Ryze had hidden in the Tower. It felt really out of place, and now that the room was better visible, Fiora wondered how she could have missed it while walking to the windows. Slowly, she turned to face the scroll and walked over to the pedestal.

Something was wrong. As she stretched out her hand to touch the scroll, the room suddenly turned cold. Fiora picked up on it instantly and froze, her fingers left floating in mid-air. All of the hairs on her neck stood up straight and she could feel a tingling feeling on her back, something that made her realize that she was being watched. In a single movement, Fiora pulled out her weapon and spun around to face the door. What she saw made her heart skip a beat.

There was a person standing there. He was so huge and massive that his body alone blocked the entire doorway, making it impossible for Fiora to get out. Every inch of him was covered in metal armour. His chest, his legs, his hands- everything. Even his head was covered with a large, spiked metal helmet. In fact, Fiora couldn't even see any of his skin. The areas around his head and neck were covered in darkness, making him look like a terrifying version of a walking metal suit. Red, glowing eyes pierced out from underneath his mask.

Fiora instinctively felt that this was a very dangerous person. She raised her sword, pointing it at his throat.

"Who are you? Identify yourself!"

No reaction. He was just standing there, looking at her. Fiora could feel his gaze slowly sliding off her body and unto the scroll, after which it moved back to her. Then the man spoke, with an inhuman voice that gave Fiora the chills.  
"Thank you for opening the door… human."  
"What do you want?" Fiora growled back, not expecting an answer. But he did, although it did not make the Grand Duelist any wiser.  
"What everyone wants… to take back what is mine."

Without warning, he attacked. The man moved faster towards her than Fiora could ever have guessed he was capable of in that heavy armour, and she barely had enough time to duck out of the way before he slammed a giant, metal mace into the floor. The stone tiles instantly shattered, blowing shards everywhere. Fiora realized that she had seen this kind of attack before. The weapon that had wounded her in the woods that night- it had made the exact same sound swinging downwards. This really was the same person as the one that had assaulted them.

Enraged, Fiora rolled over and jumped back up again. She lunged at the man, trying to pierce his armour with the pointy end of her sword. But it bounced right off the metal, not even leaving a scratch. The man gave her no time to process that fact; before Fiora's eyes, his already red eyes started glowing even more and a few shards detached themselves from his shoulders. They swirled around his hand, before changing directions and shooting straight at Fiora.

Once again, she jumped out of the way just in time. The shards missed her by an inch, drilling themselves into the wall behind her instead. The man could use magic?! While looking like that and swinging a giant mace around?! Everything she'd learned by observing weapon users in the past was suddenly flung out of the window. She had no idea what to expect from him anymore. The confusion forced her into a defensive stance, and her attacker picked up on it instantly. But instead of throwing another shard cloud at her, as she'd expected, he marched over to the pedestal in the middle of the room. The man stopped inches away from the scroll, stretching out a large, armoured hand.

"_No_!"

Recklessly, Fiora charged again. She ducked underneath his mace and rolled right between him and the scroll, quickly grabbing it with her free hand. Her other hand guided the rapier straight upwards, sliding underneath his helmet and piercing his neck. A small feeling of triumph came over her; even if she hadn't cut into a vein, a strike like that was fatal either way. She'd won.

But the metal man didn't even flinch. His hand reached behind her, at the scroll. Fiora could hear something tearing as he raised the mace in his other hand. She quickly retracted her sword and rolled out from under him, crumpling the paper in her fist. The ground behind her shattered violently, and even with her speed she couldn't evade the shards this time. Fiora let out a scream as she felt cold, sharp metal rip across the back of her neck. Warm blood dripped down her skin and onto her armour, leaving dark red stains on her clothes. Fiora didn't stop to check how bad the wound was and ran out of the mace's reach as fast as she could. But the man in armour followed her, forcing her to get closer and closer to the wall. Fiora slashed away at him frantically. But as her attacks failed to do any damage, just sliding through the places where he should have had skin, she realized that there was nothing underneath his armour. Fiora could feel herself slowly starting to panic. If there was nothing underneath, then there was no way she could defeat him.

The next moment, her back hit the wall. The armoured man slammed his hand into the stone right next to her, cutting off her escape route, and raised his mace to deal a finishing blow. Within seconds, there would be nothing left of the Grand Duelist but red stains on the floor.

And that's when she felt the rope behind her head. In a flash, she remembered from her previous inspection of the room what that rope was holding; the big, dusty chandelier. Fiora reacted purely on instinct. At the same moment that he swung down his mace, Fiora brought up her rapier and quickly cut the cord. With a large crack, the chandelier came loose from the wall, slamming straight into the man in armour. A force like that was too much even for him. He was catapulted across the room by the heavy silver from the light, flying right through the dusty window. With an ear-wrenching noise, the glass shattered. The armoured man let out a scream as he fell down the tower wall, dragging the chandelier with him. The next second, both had disappeared from sight. There was a deadly silence for a moment, after which Fiora could hear the chandelier crashing into the ground.

He was gone.

With a soft clatter, Fiora dropped her weapon on the ground. Her neck was burning, and when she placed her hand on it, she could feel a cut that had come dangerously close to her veins. Drops of red blood had already started dripping on the ground. Her breathing was heavy, but instead of giving herself first aid, Fiora staggered over to the shattered window. Slowly, she leaned out and looked downwards.

There was no sign of him.

Fiora frowned and squinted her eyes. There, almost invisible because of the long drop down, was the chandelier. It had cracked and broken into pieces, which were lying spread out on the ground. But there was no-one underneath. No shape of a man etched into the earth, no footprints, not the slightest clue that a person had fallen down together with that chandelier.

He was not there.

Fiora bit her lower lip out of frustration and clutched the paper in her hand more tightly, and that's when she realized something that was much, much worse. Mortified, she looked at her left fist. The scroll, that she had snatched from the pedestal earlier, had been ripped apart, leaving only a small part in her fingers. Fiora turned around and quickly scanned the room for the rest of the scroll, but deep down, she already knew what had happened.

He'd taken the scroll with him.

Fiora had failed.

_Again_.

* * *

It wasn't long before her failure became known to everyone.

Fiora had just turned away from the huge hole in the window, with the intention to fetch her sword, when half a dozen guards came running inside. They all wore the same purple-ish coloured robe, except for the man up front. He was old, with grey, thinning hair, but a spark in his step that fit someone much younger. Fiora immediately recognised him as the leader of the group. He ran straight into the room, stopped, looked at the empty pedestal and then at the giant hole in the glass behind Fiora. A small whimper left his mouth.

"What happened?! You're not supposed to be here- and the door- what did you do?!"

He charged straight at Fiora, his eyes demanding an explanation.

"It's a long story," Fiora sighed, picking her rapier up from the ground and sliding it back into its sheath. "Mind if I give you the short version?"  
"I don't care if it's the short version or the long version, miss Laurent, as long as I get an explanation. I'm in charge of this tower as long as Grand Master Ryze is gone, and blasting holes in secret storage rooms on my watch is not acceptable!"

He seemed about ready to throw a fit. Fiora quickly started talking before he could do that.

"You're the second in command of the Tower?"  
"That's right, miss Laurent. The name's Owen."  
"And you're in charge of this place?"  
"Indeed."  
"Good. Then I'll get straight to the point. Ryze is dead."

That hit him. Hard. Owen's mouth opened and closed itself again. He staggered backwards, not believing what his ears were telling him.

"Ryze? Dead?"  
"Yes."  
"But- but that's impossible! He was here just a few days ago!"  
"I know," Fiora said. "He came here to hide something dangerous. In this very room, actually. Am I wrong?"

Slowly, the colour disappeared from Owen's face. His eyes were drawn from the hole in the wall to the very empty pedestal.

"You're right,' Owen answered. 'But... that would mean-"  
"Something has been hunting after it. I don't know for how long, but Ryze knew, and he sacrificed himself to keep the scroll that he hid safe. I found out about this just before he died. That's why we came here. I tried my best, but... the scroll got taken away. This is all that's left of it."

She raised her left hand, revealing the part that was ripped off during the fight. Owen frowned, clearly not pleased with Fiora's explanation.

"I don't understand. It's supposed to be impossible for outsiders to enter this room. How did the thief get in? And how did _you_ get in?"  
"I had a key," Fiora answered. "We had to check if Ryze's killer had already been-"  
"You charged straight into the room? Disabling all of the defensive spells?" Owen interrupted her, his eyes suddenly flaming.  
"What do you-"

Owen rudely interrupted her before Fiora could finish her sentence. His hands were clenched into fists and he seemed to have difficulty controlling himself.

"Do you have any idea what you've done? That key was an emergency access code. It disables every single defence measure that was taken to guard that room. How could you use it when you know there's someone after the scroll?!"  
"I had to make sure that it was still there," Fiora said, defending herself. "How else was I supposed to know if Ryze's killer had already taken it or not?"  
"You should have come to me!" Owen snarled. "We could have used the tower's magic to find out if anyone had entered recently without having to force that door open. But you broke your way in, basically inviting whoever was after it to come follow you and take whatever was inside!"

That's when Fiora realized. Owen was right. By charging in head-first instead of thinking it through, she had given the armoured creature direct access to what he was after. He'd even thanked her! How could she have been so hot-headed that she didn't realize that sooner?

"He'd killed Ryze already," the Grand duelist tried to explain, more to herself than to Owen. "Whoever is capable of doing that, can break into the Arcane Tower, as well. I had to be there to stop him when he did."  
"Who is it?" Owen asked, finally containing his anger. "And what was on the scroll that he took?"  
"I don't know. You tell me, you're the ones who were keeping it safe."  
"Why would we know?" Owen asked. His eyebrows were raised so far it made his face look almost funny.  
"You're the ones guarding it!"  
"That doesn't mean that we know what it is! The mages storing their secrets here never share with the tower's mages what they're hiding. It would compromise their defensive spells. Especially Ryze- he wouldn't tell a soul even if he was being tortured."  
"So you have no idea what was in here."  
"Not a clue," Owen admitted, displeased with himself now, as well. "We might want to reconsider that rule in the future..."

Fiora frowned, thinking her options over. Then she raised the scroll part again, pointing at the few lines of runes that were engraved on it.

"Do you think that we could find out with this? There's not much on there, but we might discover something if we get someone to translate what's written."

Owen took the scroll part from her, frowning as he looked upon the runes.  
"This is both encoded and heavily enchanted. It's possible, but... it will take quite some time."  
"Do it, please," Fiora said, looking Owen straight in the eyes. "I can't hunt down Ryze's killer and bring the scroll back if I don't know what I'm looking for."  
"You're going after it?" Owen asked, slightly surprised. "Aren't you Demacians supposed to be sent out on official missions instead of running around by yourselves?"  
"I have a score to settle with that thief," Fiora growled, her voice so ferocious that Owen quickly took a step back. "I can't just return to Demacia like this. Not until I set straight my failure."  
"Honourably spoken," Owen said, with a weak smile. "Your House's reputation exceeds you, miss Laurent. I'll get a team to work on translating the scroll. You can rest here for the night, if you wish."  
"That would be very welcome," Fiora said. "How long do you think this will take?"  
"I honestly have no idea, miss. Less than a week, hopefully."

That was way too long for Fiora's tastes. But she had no experience with decoding rune scrolls, so she decided to trust the man in front of her. She was about to follow him outside, when another thought popped into her head.

"One more thing, Owen. The fox, Ahri... where did you put her?"


	8. Chapter 4 - part two

**Act 4 - part 2**

* * *

Cautiously, Fiora followed Owen down underground. The purple-hazed stones turned to dark grey as the stairs, large and crudely carved, swirled underneath ground level. Here, there were torches, although even with them hanging from the walls, you still couldn't see very well. Maybe it had to do with the magic here.

"The dungeons are down below," Owen explained, taking a torch from the wall. "We've received orders to thoroughly investigate that fox creature, and find out what she's capable of. As soon as we've determined how dangerous she is, we'll move her to one of the holding cells at the top of the tower."  
"Are you sure you'll be able to handle her?" Fiora asked, her eyebrows raised. "She's… a bit of a handful, Owen."  
He dismissed her warning, waving frantically with his hand.  
"Fox or not, it's just one woman. What could she possibly do against all of us?"

The answer to that came soon. As Fiora and Owen closed in on the dungeon block door, they could see a single guard slumped against the wall. He wasn't moving, and Fiora could see a tiny stream of blood dripping down from the back of his head. Owen's face turned pale, and he ran towards the fallen guard.

"Hey, wake up! What happened to you?"

"You're not used to having prisoners in here, are you?" Fiora asked, approaching the two of them calmly. She grabbed the guard's wrist, checking his pulse.

"He's fine, just passed out. Where is Ahri?"

"Further ahead, in the cell blocks," Owen responded. "But why-"

"How many men escorted her down here? Did they all come back up?"

"No, Tyson stayed behind to guard her. Why? What's going on?"

Fiora opened the dungeon door, stepping inside into the dark cell block. She had a bad feeling about this. That man was probably not guarding her anymore. Ahri had told her about her feeding habits. How she needed fresh life energy to stay in her human form. Fiora had seen the way that the guards, especially the men, had looked her over when they took her away. Suddenly Ahri's eagerness to go along with them started to look very suspicious. She hastened her pace, skipping along the cell doors quickly. Empty… empty… trashed and empty…

At the fifth cell, Fiora saw movement. The door was partly open, and she could see a glimpse of two people behind it. Quickly, she charged for the door and pushed it aside, stepping headfirst into the cell.

It was a sight to behold. The guard, a young man with curly brown hair, had apparently entered her cell. Fiora wasn't sure if it had been out of free will or not, but his purple robe was cast on the floor, together with his spear and a large portion of his clothes. Ahri had pinned him against the wall, lifting him by his wrists with her long, white tails. His chest was red with scratch marks, and Ahri had her fingers wrapped around the man's neck.

"What's she doing?!" Owen yelled, who had come storming in behind her. He stepped forward and wanted to run towards the two right away, but Fiora quickly put out her arm to stop him.  
"Don't. You'll end up the same way if you charge at her now."

As she said that, Fiora could see the young guard starting to tremble. Ahri had kissed him full on the lips, the effect leaving him paralyzed. Her fingers tightened around his neck and her yellowish eyes started to glow fiercely and brightly.  
"Give me…" the nine-tailed fox whispered, loud enough for Fiora to hear. She knew what Ahri was going after. In a matter of seconds, she'd drain him of all his life energy, leaving him as good as dead. The Grand Duelist couldn't let that happen. Quickly, she closed the distance between them and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder.  
"Ahri. Stop."

At first, the fox didn't react at all. She stayed fixated on the man in front of her, whose face was turning paler and paler by the second. But then her grip on his neck lessened, and she tilted her head towards Fiora. The fierceness in Ahri's eyes startled the duelist. It reminded her of the raging fire back in the forest, and how it had swallowed everything that stood in its path.

"Don't… interrupt me," Ahri whispered, her fangs glistening in the corners of her mouth. Her chest was going up and down slowly and her breathing was ragged, as if she was being exhausted by something. Fiora could feel the bloodlust radiating off the woman, but refused to back away and grabbed her arm, trying to save the young man before it was too late.

Immediately, Ahri's remaining tails grabbed hold of her. Fiora was slammed into the wall violently as Ahri turned her attention to her, dropping the guard on the cold floor. With a sharp pull, Ahri lifted Fiora's arms above her head. Her face inches away from Fiora's, she let her fingers trace the outlines of her armour and whispered in her ear.  
"No one will stand in my way… not even you, Fiora."

The fierce glow returned to her eyes, and Fiora could feel herself being captivated by them. Her body went numb, and a tingling feeling spread in her lower stomach. Even if she tried to resist, her sword was way out of reach. Fiora knew that these eyes must have been the last thing many men had seen, before they were instantly drained of their life. But strangely, Fiora was completely calm. She ignored the tails pressing her against the wall and smiled at Ahri.

"You can't kill me, remember? After all… we share a bond now."

Ahri's eyes widened a fraction as those words reached her ears. She staggered back, the glow disappearing from her face. Fiora could feel the grip on her wrist getting less. She was lowered back to the ground, her feet touching the stone lightly.  
"You learn fast, little dancer."

She had won. Ahri returned to normal, her tails retreating behind her as she leaned against the wall. She didn't even pay the passed-out guard on the floor any attention anymore. Fiora felt a familiar sense of victory, that was increased tenfold as she saw the expression on Owen's face.

"How… how did you do that? How'd you calm it down so easily?"  
"She has a name," Fiora responded sharply. "And so far, your guards are not doing a very good job at guarding her."

His ears turned red in a matter of seconds, and he was just about to start an argument with her when the young man on the ground let out a moan. Owen quickly ran towards him, rolling him on his back as his eyes flicked back to Ahri. He really didn't seem happy to have her.  
"How do you propose we guard her then, lady Laurent?"

Fiora reacted on impulse, without even thinking about it.

"Leave her to me. I've travelled with her before. She's learning to be human- but she needs someone to stop her when she does things like this. I can do that… I'm probably the only one here who can do that. Unless you want to use all of your mages to imprison her magically, of course."  
"We don't have the manpower to do that," Owen complained. "But… I can't just leave her to one person alone… she needs at least a squadron to-"  
"I've brought her here alone," Fiora spoke, her voice clear and full of authority. "And if you can't, I'll keep her in check, alone."

She stared the man down, her decision final. He fidgeted for a while, his brain trying to come up with options that would allow him to do things his way. But there were none, and eventually, he submitted.

"…All right. I'll trust in your capabilities, lady Laurent… for now."

* * *

And so, Ahri was released. More or less. She wasn't in shackles, but leaving the tower without Fiora or straying too far from her sight were both forbidden. In a way, Ahri was still a prisoner, on a figurative leash.

But the woman didn't seem to mind. With her usual, sly smile, making it impossible for anyone to know what she was thinking, she accepted her conditions. Soon, the two of them were led out of the dungeons and unto the first floor. The guard that was guiding them stopped at the first door they encountered, turning a key in the lock before handing it over to Fiora.

"Master Owen has ordered that this be your sleeping quarters, lady Laurent," the guard spoke, his face invisible because of the hood that was resting on his head. "I can arrange for a cage for the fox-"

"How many beds are there?" Fiora interrupted him. The mage stayed silent for a few seconds before answering.

"…Two, my Lady."

'That's fine, then. She'll sleep with me."

'Will you make me sleep on the rug near the fireplace, like you wanted to back at the tavern?" Ahri grinned. Fiora returned her smile.

"If you insist. A bed is more comfortable, though, Ahri."

"You'll share your bed with me?" she said, her smile widening enough for Fiora to see her pointy fangs. For a second, the image of them in the same bed appeared in Fiora's mind. Ahri lying underneath her, purring as Fiora slowly took off her dress-

"Of course not," Fiora said, opening the door as the guard left through the hallways. "You'll sleep in your own bed. And if you don't behave, I'll kick you to the floor."

Ahri merely laughed. She followed Fiora inside, closing the door behind them.

* * *

_"Ahri?"  
_

_The young fox froze. Her muscles tensed up and she was moments away from vanishing between the wild foliage of trees when a single voice called her back. A blonde-haired man, barely more than a boy, cautiously approached her from the edge of his village. In his pale hand rested a single, white flower. It seemed to glow in the evening light.  
_

_"That's your name, right?" the boy asked, once again calling out to her. "I've seen you here a few times before. My name is Harold, and I think you're full- I mean beautiful- I mean, here- this is for you."  
_

_He held out the flower, with a red blush on his cheeks that could only mean one thing. The nine-tailed fox stared at the flower, before letting her gaze travel from his hand to the rest of his body. Behind her, Ahri's white tails rustled.  
_

_"Y-you don't… like it?" the boy mumbled, his blue eyes quickly losing their spark from her rejection. Ahri tilted her head slightly, her yellowish eyes not revealing any kind of emotion. Softly, she spoke.  
_

_"I'm hungry."  
_

_He perked up immediately. With a large smile, he said: "Oh! I can fix that!" and tried to turn around in order to lead her into the village. But Ahri softly took hold of his hand, instead pulling him towards the darkness of the forest. The boy seemed confused, but his mind stopped working when the fox closed in and kissed him full on his lips. His body went numb, no longer controlled by himself, and he obediently followed the fox into the darkness. _

_He would never come back out._

Slowly, the sound of her companion tossing and turning in her sleep reached Ahri's ears. The woman had only been sleeping lightly, and the pale moonlight reflected in her eyes when she opened them, immediately alert. She sat up straight, her thin blanket rolling off of her and ending somewhere near her waist. Silently, she looked at the woman sleeping next to her.

Fiora was dreaming. And from the looks of it, it wasn't a happy dream. The Grand Duelist's face was pulled into a frown. Ahri could see Fiora burying her sharp nails into the matrass, letting it go and gripping it again a few seconds later. She'd kicked off her blanket, making it lie in a pile at the edge of her bed. The nightmare made Fiora mumble in her sleep, though Ahri could not understand what she was saying.

Slowly, Ahri slipped out from under her own blanket and made her way over to where Fiora's bed was. She seemed… fragile, lying there without her weapon or instincts to rely on. Completely vulnerable. Ahri had always been surprised by the deep slumber that humans entered when they slept. During that time, they were almost completely unaware of their surroundings. They didn't pick up on incoming threats, something that even the slowest of animals were capable of. It made them… very easy targets. Ahri mulled those words over and slowly brought her hands to the Grand Duelist's neck. It would be so easy. Ahri needed life energy in order to retain her form. The little bit that she'd taken from that guard before wasn't enough. But she didn't even need to charm the humans first if they were like this. It would be so easy… but...

Slowly, Ahri pulled her hand back. She couldn't do it. Not… not to this human. The conclusion surprised her, making Ahri frown and wonder why. Was it because they'd saved each other's life before? It had formed a bond, but… no. That wasn't it.

But then why couldn't she?

Ahri's thoughts were interrupted by Fiora, whose nightmare was apparently worsening. Cold sweat dripped down her back and Ahri could see her hands shaking, as if she was experiencing something terrible. Seeing her like that made something inside Ahri stir. Instinctively, she lay herself down next to Fiora and placed an arm around her waist. She was cold. Ahri twisted the tip of her tail around the bed's blanket and pulled it over the two of them.

"You are dreaming," she whispered into Fiora's ear, gently stroking her arm. "You know that, right? It is just a dream. Get a grip, already."

Slowly, Fiora's movements went back to normal. Her mumbling stopped, and her body wasn't tense anymore. Still asleep, she leaned into Ahri and placed her own hand over hers. Ahri smiled.

"Not so tough, after all, are you?"

But her voice was gentle, and when Fiora didn't wake up, Ahri lowered herself against the Grand Duelist's back and closed her eyes.  
Sleeping like this... wasn't so bad.

* * *

The song of birds whistling reached Fiora's eardrums. It pulled her out of her sleep, and back into the room that she was lying in. It was still very early, and not even the sun was up yet.

Fiora moaned, crawling deeper under her blanket. She was used to waking up at the same time as the birds did, but the last week had left her drained and tired, with not enough sleep. She refused to open her eyes, nuzzling her face against what she first thought was her pillow.  
But as the seconds passed by and her head became clearer, Fiora noticed that what she was lying on didn't feel like a pillow at all. It was soft and warm, and Fiora could faintly feel someone's heartbeat. Confused, she opened her eyes a few inches. She really was lying on an arm. The skin was pale and flawless, and stretched into long, lithe fingers that were inches away from her own. Fiora frowned, blinking furiously to get rid of the grogginess that always came right after waking up. As she became more aware of the room around her, she also noticed that another arm was placed around her waist. She recognized those arms, as well as the soft breathing of the person behind her.

Slowly, Fiora pushed herself up and turned to face Ahri, who was lying inches away from her. Her arm remained on top of Fiora even when she moved, only sliding down slightly.

"What are you doing in my bed?" Fiora said. Ahri opened her eyes almost immediately, smiling up at the duellist.  
"Sleeping. Is that not what it looks like, little dancer?"  
"No," Fiora replied. She tried her hardest to remember when the fox had moved under her sheets, but her memory failed her. Had she maybe slept through it? No, that wasn't possible. No one would sleep through someone sneaking into their bed.  
"Why aren't you sleeping in your own bed? I even arranged it so you wouldn't have to sleep on the floor this time."  
"You don't remember?" Ahri asked, with a surprised voice.  
"Don't remember what?"

The two stared at each other for a few seconds, before Ahri chuckled and broke eye contact.

"Don't worry, we didn't do anything. Your blanket is just warmer than mine."  
"I find that hard to believe," Fiora said, sliding out from under Ahri's arms. She dropped out of bed and unto the floor, shivering a little because of the cold. Quickly, Fiora gathered her clothes and headed for the tiny door next to the exit.  
"What are you doing?" Ahri asked, rising up from the bed as well.  
"Taking a shower. It's not morning yet, but I figure they've finished decoding _something_ by now. Will you join me?"  
"In the shower?" Ahri asked, with a mischievous smile on her face. Fiora laughed.  
"I meant downstairs, Ahri. Don't get ahead of yourself."

Fiora entered the bathroom and locked the door behind her.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the both of them were in the arcane room. The group of mages that had been appointed last night was there, standing in a triangle around the piece of scroll that Fiora had managed to save. They didn't seem to move at all, actually. Their soft mumbling made the Grand Duelist uncomfortable, as well as the tiny bursts of energy that they seemed to bounce off the scroll part. Fiora quickly turned away from the group, searching for the person that she had come to talk to.

He was there. And he wasn't alone. Right next to the platform, Owen stood together with a fragile-looking young woman. The girl had her hood up, and Owen was softly talking to her. As soon as he saw Fiora, though, he stopped right away and waved at her to come closer.

"Have you found out anything?" Fiora asked, cutting straight to the chase. Owen nodded. There was a serious expression on his face and he kept glancing at the mage girl from the corner of his eyes.

"Yes. But not about the scroll. They're still working on that. It's proven quite difficult to break the magic that keeps us from reading it. Ryze… knew his spells quite well."

He frowned, displeased with the dead mage's ability to seal scrolls.

"But?"  
"But there's something else that's just as valuable to us. Maybe even more so."

He nodded at the young mage, silently ordering her to speak. Fiora frowned as well, taking in the girl from top to bottom. She didn't seem to be anything special. Just a young apprentice, and a shy one at that.

"Tell them what you've told me, Rune."

Rune seemed to shrink visibly when the Grand Duelist cast her eyes upon her. She fidgeted with her cloak, nervously looking at the two women before finally speaking up.

"I-I... I know who the man in armour was."

"You do?" Fiora replied. In an instant, all of her attention was focused on the girl. The young mage nodded, an expression much like fear in her eyes.

"Yes. I've met him before... When I still studied under my old master, back in Ionia. His name is Mordekaiser, and he... he killed my master."

"What happened?" Fiora asked sharply. The girl flinched, but then continued.

"It was a few years ago. One night, I woke up from a horrible noise downstairs, together with my master's screams. I... I'm not a brave person, but I went downstairs to look, anyway. When I reached the arcane room... everything had been ripped to pieces. All of the books and scrolls were ruined, and my master... Mordekaiser was holding him in a deathgrip."

Her voice stuttered and her eyes grew twice as large at that word. Fiora realized that she had to be re-living the scene from back then, and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. That seemed to snap her out of it. Grateful, the girl looked up at Fiora before continuing.

"I... I can't fight. I hid behind one of the fallen bookshelves and watched. He demanded to know where the scroll was, and my master refused. He said... he said he'd take that secret to the grave with him, and then Mordekaiser would never know. And then... and then... Mordekaiser killed him.'

Ahri opened her mouth to comment on the story, but Fiora felt that the young girl wasn't done yet. She quickly raised her hand, cutting Ahri off before she could speak. The fox looked at her with a frown, before slowly walking back to the group of mages on the platform.

"After he killed my master," the apprentice continued, "Mordekaiser did... something. I don't know what it was. But my master's life energy- it flowed into his control, together with his soul. I'm sure it was some sort of dark magic. My master's soul then told him everything he knew. How a scroll had been found in the unclaimed lands between Ionia and the Shadow Isles... and how Ryze took it with him. As soon as Mordekaiser heard that, he released his soul and left our building. I've... never seen him again after that. As I stayed here longer, it was almost like that night had just been a dream... but it wasn't, was it? He… he's real."

Feeling this was the end of her story, Fiora remained silent. Her mind was working at top-speed. Mordekaiser was an undead being. That was why her rapier had been unable to hurt him in the past. Ryze had probably known what a big threat he was, and had been fleeing from him for years. But in the end, Mordekaiser, being unstoppable as he was as an undead, had finally caught up with him. In a final attempt to beat him, Ryze had hidden his scroll inside the tower before sacrificing himself to keep his treasure safe. But something had gone wrong... and Fiora had led Mordekaiser right to it. She cursed herself for being so stupid. If she'd buried that key along with Ryze, the scroll might never have been found...

No. Even without following them, Mordekaiser would have reached this place eventually. She and Ahri had just given him an early chance to strike.  
There were only two questions left unanswered, though. Why go through all that trouble for a scroll? What was on there that Mordekaiser went through such great lengths to find, and Ryze had sacrificed himself for to keep out of his hands?

Fiora frowned. The answer was in there somewhere, she could feel it. In some way, it all had to make sense. The young mage had said that Mordekaiser was desperately looking for something. What could an ancient undead possibly be looking for? They'd either been cursed, or lost their life energy and their souls, making it impossible for them to go through rebirth. The result were creatures like Tresh or Hecarim, doomed to roam the Shadow Isles forever as something neither dead nor alive. But what about Mordekaiser? What reason could he have for leaving the Isles and coming all the way out here? What was he trying to gain? He was stuck in that form forever, either way... wasn't he?

At that moment, Fiora could feel the atmosphere behind her change. The entire room turned ice cold in an instant. She quickly turned around to face the platform. Ahri had picked up on the change as well, and was staring at the mage standing on the left. He had put down his hands, and Fiora could see his whole body starting to shake.

"What's wrong?" Owen said, finally picking up on the situation as well. "What are you doing? Get back to work!"  
"T-this..." the mage said, with a voice that was trembling so much it was hard to understand. "T-this is... not possible..."

He stumbled backwards, tripping over the edge of the platform at the same moment that the other two mages froze, as well. Their hoods had fallen from their faces and Fiora saw that their pupils were wide with fear.

"What is it?!" Owen yelled again, panic sounding through in his voice, as well. He had never seen his mages react like this before. "What did you see? Tell me!"

* * *

Miles and miles away, in the dark corners of the Shadow Isles, an old altar in an abandoned cave was lit up by a single, eerie green lantern.

Mordekaiser's heavy iron boots echoed across the cave as he marched straight at the altar, the scroll clutched in his right hand. Behind him, a high chuckle sounded, together with the rustling of chains.

Inches away from the altar, Mordekaiser stopped. The red glow of his eyes reflected upon the parchment as he spread the scroll across the dark stone.

With a hollow voice, he then began to speak.

* * *

"Get a grip!'"

Owen ran towards the fallen mage and lifted him by the front of his robe, roughly shaking the man back and forth. 'What did you see?!'

The mage's eyes were rolling in his sockets. He seemed to be unable to answer. The second, older mage stepped forward and began to speak instead, with a voice that made all of the hairs on Fiora's neck stand up straight.  
"Between the realms of life and death, there are things that must never fall into mortal hands. Ryze has... found one of them."

"What? What did he find?!" Owen yelled at the mage. The expression in their eyes was rapidly driving him into a full-blown panic. He dropped the man that he'd been strangling, turning to the only mage from the group that hadn't spoken yet.

"There were rumours about it," the third mage added, just as distressed as the first two. "But I never would have thought- this is supposed to be impossible…"

Fiora could feel the young girl next to her trembling. She slowly moved backwards, until the shadows in the arcane room had hidden her from sight. Fiora ignored her and walked over to the fallen mage, kneeling down next to him. If she calmed him down, maybe they could get some sense out of the guy.

But as soon as she saw his face, Fiora froze. His skin had turned a deadly pale, and his eyes seemed to sink away into their sockets. The mage's mouth was partly open. Pure fear was radiating off every inch of his body. Fiora had only seen this expression once before. Even soldiers, dying on the battlefield under the steel of her weapon, did not show agony like this. Fiora's body froze and her heartbeat automatically accelerated, reflecting the man's own fear.

"He can't activate this," the young mage whispered, his trembling fingers finding a way around Fiora's wrist. "If he knows where to activate it... it'll mean the end of everything."  
"What do you-"

At that moment, the world exploded. Literally. A huge tremor ran through the entire tower, knocking every single person down to the ground. Fiora's vision was blinded by a hellish green light, bursting through the tiny windows and filling the entire arcane room. More tremors followed, and Fiora could feel shockwaves entering her hands through the ground. With a tremendous effort, she lifted her head and looked out of the window. A huge, sickly green-coloured bolt of light shot out into the sky, from across the water. It was so powerful that its force could be felt all the way out here. Fiora let out a curse as another tremor pushed her to the ground-

At the same moment that Ahri's tortured screaming finally reached her ears.

As fast as she could, Fiora turned around. The woman was lying on the floor, curled together and pressing both hands against her chest. A faint, green light crept out from between her fingers. It quickly got brighter, and as it did, her pain seemed to increase tenfold. Ahri screeched, her face clearly in pain as she pushed herself backwards, trying to escape from the light.

"Ahri?!"

Her voice fell on deaf ears. Another scream escaped the fox's lips, after which she suddenly snapped. In a blind panic, Ahri dashed for the door. Fiora could see her tails disappearing one by one as she called upon her foxfire, blasting a hole through the wood and setting part of the room on fire instantly. The next second, she was gone. Fiora tried to get up to follow her, but another tremor slammed her straight back onto the floor.

"You there!" she yelled at the young girl, who was still hiding in the corner. "Take someone with you and get water to put that fire out! Now!"

She remained frozen with fear. Fiora repeated her command twice, after which she gave up and turned to the other mages instead.  
"What is happening?!"

What she saw on their faces made her blood freeze in her veins. The older two men had stopped responding completely, their minds trapped in something that looked like a complete panic attack. With huge eyes they looked at the green light beam in the sky. Owen was in no better condition, being just as confused as Fiora was.

"We're… too late…" the younger mage mumbled, still sitting on the floor in the same position. Fiora reached out and grabbed the front of his robe, pulling the man towards her. He was hard to hear from the roaring of the tremors.

"Too late for what?! What is going on?!"

"Ryze found one of the Forbidden Scrolls," the mage whispered, turning his eyes towards Fiora. He wasn't looking at her, but at a point in space that no one else could see. His gaze went right through Fiora's head.

"The what? What are you talking about?"

"Ryze found one of the Forbidden Scrolls," the mage whispered, turning his eyes towards Fiora. He wasn't looking at her, but at a point in space that no one else could see. His gaze went right through Fiora's head.

"The what? What are you talking about?"

"Magic that was judged to be too powerful for mortals to have control over," he continued to whisper, almost as if Fiora wasn't even there. "Sealed magic powerful enough to enhance one's abilities beyond what's humanly possible! If he did that with himself-"

His own powers, you mean? Like what he did with Rune's master?" Fiora asked, desperately trying to keep up with the man.

"Yes. But that ability is… restricted. He can only control one soul at a time, and only with a lot of effort. But the ancient spells that were sealed away- they have no limit. Because of how they were made, they keep going endlessly when activated. Whoever has that scroll, could use it to control more fallen souls, and more, and more…"

Suddenly, Fiora understood. Mordekaiser had obtained something strong enough to raise an army. And his ability to control one soul at a time was not enough. With that scroll, he could control every dead and undead being in the Shadow Isles. No, wait, it was worse than that… He could control every single lost soul in Valoran.

This was not just bad. This was a complete disaster.

Demacia had to know. Fiora had to inform them, immediately. If she didn't, something terrible was going to happen. She instantly knew that, the second that bolt of light had shot up, a time limit had been set on all of their lives. And time was ticking away rapidly.

With that in mind, Fiora was finally able to stand up. She staggered over to the door, but before she could even get started on the route out of here, she stopped. The burning hole was still there, its flames already starting to die down.

Ahri.

Something had been terribly wrong. Something that had to do with the disaster that had just happened. Fiora couldn't just leave Ahri behind, without finding out what had happened to her first. She had to know.

But… where had she gone?

Slowly, hindered by the weaker growing tremors, Fiora made her way across the empty Tower hallways. All of the doors were shut tight, none with holes blasted into them. Ahri, in her panic, must have chosen the first door that was open and hidden in there, to get away from… what? Fiora did not know. But she was worried for the fox. More than just because she had been her mission. Fiora had grown to like Ahri. Her witty remarks always made her smile, and Ahri's playful nature kept her on edge more than a sparring partner ever could. Seeing her in pain like that, rushing off in a blind panic, made something inside her chest hurt. Fiora had to find her, and quickly.

The second hallway was different from the first. It was a dead end, and at the very end of the hallway, Fiora could see an open door. Quickly, Fiora walked over there and stuck her head around the corner.

It was a large room, something that seemed like sleeping quarters for the mages. Thin, single beds much like the one Fiora had slept in were lined up against the wall. The curtains behind the windows were closed, making the room look dark and full of shadows.

"Ahri?"

There she was. Huddled in a corner, as far away from both the doors and windows as possible. Ahri was hunched over, her arms still pressed tightly against her chest as she let out a soft whimper. Fiora couldn't stand to see her companion like that and quickly walked up to her, kneeling down right in front of the fox.  
"Ahri, what happened? What are you doing?"

Slowly, Ahri lifted her head. Her face had turned the same eerie colour as that of the mages, and she was clenching her teeth hard to keep another whimper from coming out.  
"You weren't supposed to hear that," she groaned, trying to form her usual smile but failing horribly. "Just… go away for now. I'll be fine soon."

She moved her arms further in front of her chest, but Fiora had already seen it. There was something black shining through between her fingers, where before there had only been fair, pale skin. Slowly, Fiora moved her own hand towards Ahri.  
"No, you won't be fine. Something happened to you in there. What's going on?"  
"Nothing-"  
"Show me."  
"Go away, human," Ahri growled. She showed her teeth to Fiora, but her arms were too weak to resist as the Grand Duelist slowly pulled them away from her breasts. On her chest, just below her collarbone, rested a black symbol. That definitely hadn't been there before. It looked painful, like it had been brutally carved into Ahri's skin. The ink, or whatever that blackness was, seemed to swirl around inside the symbol, like it was alive. Fiora couldn't read what was written, but the symbol looked vaguely familiar to her.

"Who… who did this to you?" Fiora said, surprised by the anger in her own voice. Her fingers moved across Ahri's delicate skin, past her collarbone and unto the black symbol. She couldn't feel it, but Ahri flinched as soon as Fiora's fingers touched the blackness.  
"Mordekaiser."  
"Why?"  
"I… I don't know," Ahri replied. She seemed slightly calmer, now that the tremors had stopped and the green light was being blocked out by the curtains. Her hands had moved up to pull Fiora away from her chest, but as she steered clear from the symbol, Ahri lowered them again.  
"Does it hurt?"  
"Not anymore… Only when you touch it."

Ahri followed Fiora's hand with her eyes as the duelist moved her hand back up, touching the area around the black mark. Fiora was extremely careful, only gently brushing Ahri's skin. When her touch didn't cause Ahri to flinch again, Fiora slowly moved downwards.

"What are you doing?" Ahri muttered, her eyes softening.

"Shut up. I'm checking your skin. You scared me senseless when you started screaming and then just took off like that. Don't ever do that again."

"Ah, did I worry you, little dancer?" Ahri purred, her normal self briefly shining through. She raised a single tail, teasingly brushing it past Fiora's lower arm. But Fiora didn't laugh at the taunt. Instead, she looked at Ahri with an expression in her eyes that was dead serious.  
"Yes. You did."

Slowly, the grin disappeared from Ahri's face. She blinked, looked at Fiora, and blinked again. Fiora could feel her heartbeat change as she slowly pulled her tail back. A strange look of surprise appeared on Ahri's face, her eyes widening a little.

"You were… worried about me?"

Ahri's voice was soft, almost unhearable. But there was an emotion in it that Fiora had never heard from her before. She seemed… delicate, almost fragile. It was so in contrast with how she normally behaved that Fiora didn't know how to react to it. But as her eyes lingered on Ahri's delicate skin and yellowish eyes, she was suddenly overcome with a warmth in her chest that the Grand Duelist had not felt in a long time. She wanted to be with this person. Seeing her in pain hurt Fiora more than she had realized. Slowly, Fiora moved her hand away from Ahri's chest and placed her fingers in her neck, pulling the woman towards her.

"What are you doing?" Ahri asked, still not back to her normal self. She didn't resist, though, allowing Fiora to pull her close.  
"Quiet," Fiora whispered, her voice course. A strange, tingling feeling in her chest and lower stomach tuned out all of her thoughts. Fiora noticed a long, stray black hair covering the tip of Ahri's soft, pink lips. Slowly, she brought her fingers to Ahri's mouth and brushed the hair away. Ahri's grin widened, and suddenly Fiora saw a glimmer of sharp fangs as her mouth opened and she gave a short bite into Fiora's hand.

At that very second, another quake made the ground underneath them shudder. Fiora immediately remembered why she'd left the arcane room in the first place. She grabbed Ahri, pushing her off of her as the Grand Duelist stood back up.

"Stop it. There's no time for this. We have more important things to do."

"Are you sure?" Ahri purred while leaning forward with her body, revealing a large portion of her already visible chest. Then she frowned.

"Wait. 'We'?"

Fiora nodded.

"Yes, we. I promised to keep an eye on you, remember? You seem to randomly start killing people whenever you're left alone for too long. I'd leave you here, but I don't approve of them executing you just because they have a shortage of guards. So, whether you like it or not, you're stuck with me."  
"So it seems," Ahri smiled, her eyes revealing nothing of the emotion behind them. As usual, Fiora had no idea what the fox was thinking. And as usual, it both annoyed and intrigued her to no end.  
"Where will you take me then, little dancer?" Ahri asked.  
"North... to the Shadow Isles. I'm going after Mordekaiser, and you're coming with me."

Slowly, her eyes lost focus on Fiora. Ahri's hand moved up her own chest, resting near the black symbol. It still had to be sensitive, since even the lightest touch made her frown.

"That's why you'll want to come with me," Fiora spoke. "The sooner we find Mordekaiser, the sooner we'll find out what that is, and the faster you'll be rid of it."

"All right," Ahri nodded, shifting her attention back to the woman in front of her. "I'll come with you. But Fiora..."

She moved before the duelist had time to react. In an instant Ahri was inches away from her, placing a single finger on Fiora's lower lip.

"Next time you won't get rid of me so easily."

"I'll look forward to it," Fiora replied, unable to keep a smile from playing on her lips. "Try me. I dare you."

"Oh, I will. Trust me... I will."

With those words, Ahri smiled at her again before leaving the room first. Fiora still saw the woman in front of her, even when she had already disappeared from sight. Her long, shiny black hair and long dress, flowing perfectly around her curvy chest and hips-

Focus. She needed to focus. Fiora violently shook her head, banning Ahri from her thoughts and instead concentrating on more important things. They needed to send a message to Demacia. She'd need a boat to take them to the Shadow Isles. But before Fiora could do that, someone needed to repair her sword. Fiora looked down, reaching for her weapon-

And her eyes widened a little. From the hilt all the way down to the pointy end, the metal was glowing. Strange as that was, it wasn't an ordinary glow, either. No, the blade shone in a bright, ghostly blue, briefly reminding Fiora of the foxfire that Ahri had summoned at the tavern. Her sword had never done that before. It was unsettling, and for a few seconds Fiora didn't dare to touch her rapier. Then she slowly wrapped her fingers around the hilt. She could feel her fingers tingling, but the glow gradually got less, until there was no trace of it left. Slowly, Fiora exhaled.

Another one of Ahri's hallucinations? But why would she do that?

It had probably just been her imagination.

* * *

_-End of act 4-_

_Many thanks for all who read the chapter, and sorry for the delay. Comments and advice are much appreciated! Otherwise, have a nice day. =)_

-Yimi


End file.
